Compromised
by LostForeverInHisEyes
Summary: Her agents lives at risk and NCIS compromised, Hetty calls in a favour. Lies, betrayal and deception are revealed as they are pursued. By who? What do they want? And why does Hetty trust Annabel with Callen's life? Team orientated. NOW COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N - I am aiming for this to be a team orientated, adventure story with a side of romantic interest for Callen - Yes with an OC. If you know my stories that shouldn't surprise you. At the moment this story is still very much a work in progress, so whilst the updates shouldn't be too far apart, they may not come as quickly as normal._

_It is set after Season One, pre Season Two and will make some references, to episodes from season 1, in particular those from Burned onwards._

_I hope you enjoy. Reviews are greatly appreciated and who knows, as some of my reviewers from previous stories have found, they really can make a difference to the story._

_If at anytime you disagree with the rating of this story, currently T, please PM me and let me know why. Thanks.  
_

_Disclaimer - Having fun, don't own anything that is recognisable from NCIS: LA or NCIS (they will play a little part in this). OC's are mine though._

_**Full summary - **hopefully to help pique your interest more than the little one!_

_With the lives of two of her agents in jeopardy, Hetty requests help from a trusted outside source. With a personal bodyguard on both agents Callen and Blye, the team go on the run. Lies, betrayal and deception, as well as ruthless pursuers follow. Callen and his bodyguard, Annabel, eventually find themselves separated from the rest of the team and running again. Their lives linked for years before they even met. Who is after Callen and Kensi? Why have Callen and Annabel's lives been linked together well before they met? What link does this have with his past? What does it mean for his future?_

_Without further ado...Read on._

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**Chapter 1**

**NCIS Headquarters, LA:**

"Not good," exclaimed Eric to himself, as he picked up his phone, tucked it between his ear and shoulder and dialed Hetty. His fingers going back to his keyboard, furiously striking keys as he waited.

"Yes Mr Beale," Hetty answered, as she glanced at the clock. She was expecting an important call any moment.

"We've got a problem. A big problem. Need you to come up," Eric said quickly.

Hetty frowned. "Now?" she asked.

"Actually five minutes ago, but now will do," Eric answered and hung up on her.

Hetty looked at the phone in her hand, glanced up to the top floor. She frowned as she stood up and made her way to Eric. She had sensed the urgency in the way Eric had spoken to her. He was usually much more restrained and submissive.

"What is it Mr Beale?" Hetty asked, as she walked through the door, her tone a cross between impatience and puzzlement.

"This," replied Eric, pointing to his computer screen. Hetty stepped closer and looked at what was on his screen, feeling a chill run up her spine as she took in what she saw. She narrowly suppressed a shudder.

"How did you find this Eric?" Hetty asked in disbelief.

Eric looked at her, guilt on his face. He had obviously been doing something that she wouldn't approved of. "Do you really want to know?" he asked.

Whilst Hetty knew Eric was probably in need of a reprimand, considering what he would have been doing to come across this information, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not when there were much more important things that needed to be done. That, and she was extremely glad he had been doing whatever it was.

"No," Hetty shook her head. "Do they know you found this?"

Eric shook his head and nervously played with his fingers, now they were no longer working on the keyboard. "No. As soon as I realised, I covered my tracks and called you." He looked at Hetty. "Is this what I think it is?" he asked, worried.

"I don't know," Hetty shook her head. "I hope not. Who do you trust, completely trust, that can help you delve deeper into this?" Hetty asked, as she looked at him. She saw the nervousness and the worry on his face and Eric saw how troubled and serious Hetty was. Even more serious than normal.

"Abby," Eric said, no doubt in his mind. Hetty nodded.

"Good, then go to her. Only Abby and Agent Gibbs are to know what you are doing. We do not know who we can trust. Do you understand?" Hetty asked. Callen trusted Agent Gibbs with his life, she would do the same.

Eric nodded. "Completely." He quickly loaded the necessary information onto his small portable computer and stood up.

"What about..." Eric started to ask, turning back to face Hetty.

"I'll take care of them Eric. You find who is behind this and stay safe," Hetty answered his question before he could finish it. "If you run into anybody, you have a personal emergency out of town and you are not sure when you will be back. Good luck."

Eric nodded, "You too," and fled.

In his haste, Eric wasn't looking where he was going and almost crashed into Callen and Sam.

"Whoa, Man. Where's the fire?" Sam asked as he dodged out of the way of Eric.

Eric turned around but continued to walk backwards, "Sorry."

"Where you going, Eric?" Callen asked as he stopped and watched their tech expert back away from them.

"Umm. Got to run. Family stuff," Eric replied, stumbling over his words, then turned around increased his pace. Callen and Sam watched him go, then looked at one another. Callen raised his eyebrows in question at Sam.

"Since when does Eric do family stuff?" Sam asked. Callen shook his head and frowned.

"Maybe Hetty knows," Callen replied.

"She's all yours G."

"Why me?" Callen feigned a look of terror.

"She likes you better," Sam responded as he walked away to his desk.

"Only when you don't want to talk to her," Callen said under his breath as he headed over to the lady in question's desk.

~~~~~o

Hetty unlocked and pulled open her bottom drawer. She reached in, just as Callen came up to her desk.

"Hetty, what's up with Eric?" Callen asked. "Didn't know he could move that fast on his feet."

Hetty straightened up and looked at him, a neutral expression masking her inner turmoil. "Family emergency Mr Callen. He will be back when he can," she replied easily. It was the truth. Even if it wasn't quite what Callen would be thinking. He looked like he was going to continue with his questioning so she got in first.

"I'll be needing to speak with you, Mr Hanna and Miss Blye shortly," Hetty said, with a tone that told him he was dismissed.

Callen nodded, and left, though she could tell it was reluctantly. Hetty let out a small sigh, that nobody heard, as she reached for a phone she kept for circumstances such as these. One that had never been used before, that she had hoped she would never have to use. Heading to Nate's office for some privacy, knowing Nate was out for the afternoon, she closed the door and dialed a number she knew by heart.

"Yes?" a male voice answered impatiently on the second ring.

"Graham, I need your help," Hetty said. Even she could hear the desperation in her voice at the request she made.

"Henrietta?" Graham asked, his tone no longer impatient but concerned.

"Yes," she answered.

"What do you need?" Graham asked.

"More than I could hope you can give me," Hetty replied. She didn't try and keep the emotion out of her voice. She knew that the man on the other end of the phone was one of the few people she could trust completely.

"That bad?" Graham responded gently.

"I need to keep them safe and there is no one else I can trust," Hetty paused and took a breath. "I need your help and I need Annabel."

"You are in luck, she's just back. Tell me the rest and I'll take care of it," Graham assured her.

"Thank you Graham." Hetty closed her eyes briefly in relief, before she spoke again.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N - Thanks for the support for this new story. It's just a short chapter, I promise the next one will be well and truly longer._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

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**Chapter 2**

Sam looked up as Hetty walked into the bullpen, catching the serious expression on her face. "What's up Hetty?" he asked. "G says you want to talk to us."

Hetty nodded. "Yes. I have an assignment for the three of you tonight," she replied. "A fact finding mission of sorts."

"What kind of facts?" asked Kensi, leaning forward in her chair, interested.

"There are three establishments we need to investigate. Unsubstantiated rumours regarding illegal activity taking place by military personnel."

Callen raised his eyebrows. "By establishments, do you mean bars?" he asked.

"Indeed," Hetty replied, glancing at him. "We need to get a feel for them. But we don't want them getting suspicious. Which is why you will each take one of them. You will be on your own. All you have to do is go in, have a drink, get a feel for the place, then you go home. There shouldn't be any problems, but if there is, just call," Hetty finished.

"That's it?" Callen asked, frowning slightly. Hetty sending them out for drinks, alone. This sounded too easy, yet at the same time, he had one of those moments where he knew it wasn't.

"That's it," Hetty nodded. "I'll have your wardrobe requirements ready and give you the locations before you leave tonight. For now, paperwork please. You are all well behind." Hetty shook her head as she turned and walked away.

"Thought I was up to date," muttered Sam.

"No Mr Hanna, you still have the report from yesterday to file," Hetty replied over her shoulder.

Sam looked between Callen and Kensi, as they tried not to laugh.

"It's not like that one is late," Sam protested his innocence, as he turned to his computer to get started. None of them were quite sure what had gotten Hetty in this mood for having the paperwork up to date. She usually gave them a few days before wanting it, unless the mission went bad. Yesterday's had been routine.

"Wonder what's up with her?" Kensi asked, as she briefly eyed Hetty's retreating back, before turning back to her own work.

Callen watched Hetty until she disappeared from his line of sight. Something was definitely up and he had a feeling it had nothing to do with paperwork and something to do with Eric's fast moving disappearance earlier. He turned away and got started. At least if he finished some of his paperwork, he would have an excuse to go and see Hetty and maybe probe a little.

~O~O~O~O~O

It was just before five pm and Hetty had them in the wardrobe department, getting the three of them prepared for their evening's mission.

"Are these new, Hetty? Haven't seen them before," Kensi asked as she held up the clothes Hetty had just given her.

"Yes they are Miss Blye," Hetty confirmed, turning back to the pile of clothing on her desk. She pulled out the next items and held them up against Sam. She nodded to herself and held them out for him to take.

"What's the deal Hetty?" Callen asked. "Are we looking for anything in particular?" Hetty had disappeared just before lunch, only returned about half an hour ago, so even though he had paperwork completed to give her, he hadn't had a chance to speak to her yet.

Hetty returned her attention to the clothes pile, gathering up the last few things. She turned around and handed them to Callen.

"You can add that favourite jacket of yours Mr Callen to complete the look," Hetty added

Callen took the clothes and frowned at his boss, who had turned away from him again. "Hetty?" She turned back and looked at him, an exasperated look on her face.

"Just get a feel for the place Mr Callen. We don't want them spooked. See what you think. Report back tomorrow," Hetty ordered. "You all have excellent instincts. If I didn't believe that, you wouldn't be working for me. Now, I suggest you all go and get ready. You'll need to be there in two hours." Hetty turned and left them, Callen watching her as she left.

"We don't need that long," Sam commented.

"Kenz does," Callen replied absently, whilst trying to figure out Hetty. Kensi threw a shoe at him, which relying purely on reflexes he caught before it connected with his head. Kensi was definitely a good shot. He glanced at it and then to Kensi. "Not my kind of thing but thanks anyway," he grinned as he tossed it back at her.

"Something feel off about this to you two?" asked Sam, looking between Callen and Kensi.

"Yep," Callen agreed. Hetty had been acting odd today, and he wasn't the only one who noticed. Kensi nodded her agreement.

"Oh well," Kensi sighed. "At least it should be an easy night."

Callen raised his eyebrows at her comment.

"What? A girl can hope can't she?" Kensi replied as she walked away, clothes in hand. "See you tomorrow."

Sam looked at Callen, raised his eyebrows and repeated, "Easy?"

Callen shook his head. "When is it ever easy?"


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N - Managed to get this chapter ready sooner than expected. As promised, much longer than the previous ones._

_Not sure when I'll get the next one out but I do promise that I'll be posting the chapters just as soon as I am sure I'm not going to play around with something in the story further on that needs to be mentioned before._

_Reviews do make a difference so if there is something you'd like to see, or improved, let me know. More than once, a review has sparked something extra in a story, or even in some cases a completely new story!  
_

_Thanks for the support so far for this story. It's been great._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

**Chapter 3**

Callen had been at his assigned bar for about ten minutes. He'd had his drink, surveyed his surroundings, idly chatted with a couple of the bartenders. It was a busy place, lively, but not rough. He didn't really feel like there was anything wrong with it. He decided to move away from a bar and find a table somewhere, see if he got a different feeling if he was in the middle of things. At least that way he could give a thorough report to Hetty.

Callen stood up to move away from the bar. As he did a woman bumped into him. He reached out and caught her before she fell, noticing the blonde hair and crystal clear, green eyes that looked at him as he held her up. She smiled and lent into him, making no move to stand up on her own. Her actions pointed to her being very drunk but he could tell she wasn't. He frowned, wondering what she was up to.

She lent closer to his ear and whispered, "Hetty sent me to keep you safe. Be interested and get us out of here." She pulled her head back again, looking him over with a smile, not making any attempt to move out of his arms.

Callen raised his eyebrows and continued to watch her as he asked, "You all right?" He wasn't entirely sure whether what she had said was a threat or a warning. Whether she had really been sent by Hetty or was just trying to get him to go with her. Wouldn't be the first time someone had sent a pretty girl to get him.

"Never better," she replied deliberately slurring her speech. "Gorgeous guy, what more could a girl want?" she asked, slipping her arms around his neck and moving her head closer so they were almost eye to eye. Something told him it was a warning, that she wasn't a threat to him.

Callen kept one arm around her waist and slipped the other up behind her neck, holding her close and tilting her head back. He'd go along with it for now and see what she wanted. He smiled as he saw a flash of surprise in her eyes as she realised what he was about to do.

"Him to take you home?" Callen asked, as he placed a few lingering kisses on her neck. One deliberately against where he pulse was. He felt it jump as he did.

"You don't even know my name," she replied. Callen smiled against her neck at the breathless sound to her voice. He was pretty sure he knew the difference between real and an act. And hers was no act.

"Names are over rated," he stated as he moved to capture her lips and kissed her thoroughly. When he eventually pulled back, she took a moment before she spoke and he gave a little smile of satisfaction at the look in her eyes. He didn't know what she was up to, but if she wanted to play, then so would he. Didn't hurt that he had enjoyed himself.

"So," she swallowed, seeming slightly unsettled, "your place or mine?" she asked, as she gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head.

"Depends. There's a hotel around the corner." Callen saw the sparkle in her eyes and wondered where she would go with it. She followed so smoothly. Whoever she was, she seemed pretty good at improvising.

"I like your thinking." She stood up straighter and moved her arm to around his waist as she turned her body slightly away from his. "Someone else to clean up later. Lead on."

Callen turned them toward the door, and they walked out together. He held her up as she pretended to trip a few times on the way, continuing to make the rest of the world believe that she was drunk. When they got outside, she started to lead the way, though to the onlooker nothing changed. She stopped at a car and turned to him, slipping her arms around his neck, moving close to him.

Callen was tempted to kiss her again, but she spoke before he could decide or even make the move that would close the distance between them.

"My car. Sorry but you're not insured to drive it." Her voice was soft enough that no one else would hear her.

"Perhaps I should drive anyway," Callen suggested, more for his peace of mind than anything. He still wasn't sure what was going on.

Her eyes narrowed at him and she shook her head. She left one arm around his neck as she reached into her bra and pulled out the key. Callen raised his eyebrows, as he watched.

She smiled, unfazed by him witnessing her hiding place. She moved up to whisper in his ear, "Safer than worrying about where I left my purse." She pulled away, unlocked the door and got in.

"Hurry up, Agent Callen," she urged softly, holding his gaze whilst she waited for him to move. Callen frowned and put his hand over hers, as she was about to put the key in the ignition.

"I don't know you," Callen said, quietly so no one would hear the change in his tone. The conversation had just got serious. To those watching, it would look like he was still trying to convince her not to drive.

"No you don't," she agreed. "And if we don't get out of here soon, you may not get the chance. Please, get in the car before some sees us who shouldn't," she pleaded with him.

Callen saw the sense in her suggestion and took the key from her hand, closed her door and went around to the other side of the car. He got in, looked at her and waited for an explanation before he planned on handing back the key. She just smiled at him.

"Seat belt please," she commented, as she locked the doors and started the car. Callen looked at the key in his hand and back to her.

"What?" She chuckled lightly. "You really think I only had one?" she asked smiling at him briefly before turning her attention to their exit from the parking lot. "Check your phone. Hetty will have sent you a message by now."

Callen pulled out his phone, just as the message came in.

'Trust her.' It seemed like it was legitimately from Hetty's number.

"How do I know you didn't set this up?" Callen asked. He wasn't too concerned. He figured he could get away from her if he had to. He'd jumped out of a moving vehicle before. A few more scratches wouldn't hurt too much. Hell, it couldn't be any worse than when he crashed the car recently. He was still getting the looks from Hetty on that one. It had taken her a week before she'd got him another car, making him dependent on Sam or Kensi as punishment. He hadn't complained though, he didn't want to end up at traffic school again. That has been a high probability as he'd actually caught Hetty with a website open for traffic school a couple of days after the crash.

She glanced briefly back down at his phone, not answering, and then continued to concentrate on driving. Another text came in.

'Because she didn't Mr Callen.' Again, from Hetty.

Callen looked back at his companion. "How?" he asked, curiously.

"You know she is your boss, not mine. You don't know how she does things yet?" his companion asked.

"Hetty's ... complicated," Callen replied. Whether complicated was the correct description for Hetty, he wasn't sure, but it was the closest thing he could come up with at the moment.

"No kidding," she answered with a smile.

Callen frowned. "You know her?" He was getting the impression this woman knew Hetty, not just of her.

"Worked with her before," she responded.

"She always been scary?" Callen asked, testing her. If she really did know Hetty, she shouldn't have a problem answering that question.

She just smiled and he almost jumped when his phone rang in his hands. Hetty.

"Hetty, we were - "

Hetty interrupted. "I know Mr Callen. The answer is yes I have. Now get rid of the phone and trust her."

"Who - " He didn't get to finish. Hetty had already hung up.

"We're going over a bridge soon, so you might want to get ready to throw it," she advised.

Callen quickly deleted the files and contacts and put the window down.

"Now."

Callen threw it, hoping he wasn't being played. This day had been full of weird and interesting moments, especially since she'd bumped into him. He put the window back up and turned to her.

"So are you going to answer my question?" Callen asked.

She didn't answer straight away as she pulled them onto the freeway.

"Which one?" she eventually replied as she glanced over at him. "Seat belt please."

Callen rolled his eyes, but complied with her request. "How did Hetty know what we just said?" he asked.

"She organised the car and most likely had it bugged for her own entertainment." Callen could hear the laughter in her voice and mildly chuckled himself.

"Sounds like something Hetty would do," Callen replied. Maybe she did actually know Hetty. "Do I get a name? You know mine."

"Annabel." She reached for a pair of glasses and slipped them on. "Hold on," she added, as she turned off the car lights.

"What the hell?" Callen exclaimed as she put her foot down and he was pushed back in his seat from the acceleration, grateful he had put that seat belt on after all. He grabbed hold of whatever he could and held on, as Annabel started weaving in and out of traffic, extremely fast and dangerous. Kensi had nothing on this girl for what seemed like reckless driving.

"How can you see?" Callen asked. With no lights from their car and the speed, it was almost impossible to see anything but a blur of red and white lights from the other cars and the street lights. Annabel laughed, a fun light hearted one, not really something he was expecting, given the situation.

"Pair of glasses in the glove box. Put them on and trust me," Annabel replied. She wondered whether that was actually going to happen, whether he would trust her. She hoped he would, because she couldn't do her job if he was constantly questioning her.

Callen found the glasses and put them on. Somehow things became clearer. The speed and the no lights had been scary, not that he would admit it out loud to anyone. Not so bad with whatever these glasses were, though he would have preferred to be driving. After a few minutes on the freeway, she finally spoke again.

"Come on Agent Callen. Please tell me you aren't scared because I'm a woman driving?" Annabel asked.

Callen shook his head, "Nothing at all to do with that." He'd never admit something like that. The thought of what Kensi could do to him if she knew he'd said anything that remotely suggested that and, was serious about it, was enough to ensure his denial was truthful. He was still holding on as she crossed three lanes of traffic, narrowly missing at least four cars, to take an exit off the freeway. "Where are we going?" Callen asked.

"Somewhere safe," Annabel replied. "Now please, no more talking. I'm not used to driving on the right hand side of the road."

Callen stayed silent, having picked up the British accent that had just now slipped into her voice. Right now, he'd give just about anything for it to be Kensi in the drivers seat. At least she hadn't hit anything ... yet. She swung the car around into a car park and stopped, turning off the car as she watched around them, tense.

"Here?" Callen asked, surprised at the stop.

"No, just making sure we weren't being followed." Annabel continued to watch. She'd be able to see from here if anyone stopped to try and find which way they had gone.

"We're just sitting here waiting?" Surely it would be better on the move, and anywhere but a car park where they could get boxed in easily. Though he had to admit, given her driving, it was fairly unlikely any one would have kept up without them noticing.

Annabel shook her head slightly as she thought that the man beside her had no faith in her. But then he didn't know what was going on so she'd give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

"Take a look outside Agent Callen. Tell me what you see," she said, glancing over at him with a smile. Hetty had been right, he didn't like not knowing what was going on.

"Just Callen okay." He looked around. All the cars in the car park were the same. Exactly the same.

"How?" Callen asked as he turned back to her. She smiled and as she spoke he did too, as it dawned on him that there really was only one person who could have set something up like this, "Hetty."

"Yep," she agreed.

"So how long do we wait?" Callen was getting nervous. Sitting still just wasn't his thing if there was a possibility that they were being followed.

"Just a couple of minutes. Why? Don't like the company?" Annabel asked cheekily.

"Want to know what's going on, that's all," he answered. He hadn't quite worked out his companion yet. She seemed to know enough about Hetty and she hadn't done anything to harm him, well at least not directly. There was the insane driving. But then there was also...

"You are safe Callen." Annabel turned to him, cutting his thoughts off and he focused back on what she was saying. "You have my word. I will keep you safe," she tried to assure him. She knew that tonight would have confused him and if he was ever going to trust her, she needed to make sure he understood she wasn't here to hurt him. Just the opposite. She didn't know if her words would help, but it was the only thing she could do right now.

Callen could tell she was serious. "From who?" he asked as he frowned. Whilst he could tell the tone of her voice easily, it was too dark to really get a read on her expressions.

"That, you'll have to ask Hetty. She hasn't told me," Annabel replied.

"Why not?" he asked.

Annabel let out an exasperated breath bordering on an outright sigh. He was going to drive her crazy with all these questions. She wished Hetty had warned her about that.

"Because there wasn't time. And Hetty probably wanted to be the one to tell you. Perhaps she thought it was better that I didn't know since you obviously ask so many questions. She may have even suspected that you might drive me a little crazy so I'd either answer them or kiss you, just to shut you up. Not exactly the best idea when I'm driving. I may be talented but never actually tried that one," Annabel replied. Callen smiled at her little rant, but didn't have time to ask her more about those talents she'd suggested before she added, "Time to go." She pulled out and drove off, turning the lights back on just after they joined the traffic.

"Okay. So who do you work for?" Callen asked watching her facial expressions now he wasn't distracted by the ride. That and the street lights gave him enough light to see her by.

"What are you after Callen? Answers or us to continue what we started back in the bar?" Annabel asked. He could see she was smiling.

"Maybe both," Callen replied, having no objection to either suggestion she had just made.

Annabel glanced at him briefly and wondered if he was serious or just playing with her. She didn't have time to look for too long as she had to pull into a narrow alley way. She drove slowly and carefully and, once she was far enough down that the lights from the street didn't reach them, she switched off the lights to the car.

Callen couldn't see a thing in front of them. Annabel pressed a button on the dashboard and up ahead he saw a door opening, giving them enough light to navigate safely.

"Well, answers you are about to get. As for the rest," she smiled again, "guess we'll just have to wait and see," Annabel finished, driving through the now fully open door and pulling the car up to a stop. "We're here," she said, "Safe and sound." Annabel hopped out of the car, so did he.

"Mr Callen," Hetty said.

Callen turned around quickly to see Hetty standing next to a man who was even bigger than Sam. He tensed and his senses went into overdrive as he wondered what they had got themselves into.

"Hetty, what's going on?" Callen asked, looking between Hetty, the guy and Annabel.

Hetty stepped forward, closer to him. "In time Mr Callen. Trust me, everything will be fine. We are waiting for Mr Hanna and Miss Blye to arrive, then I will tell you all." Hetty gave him none of their signals to suggest that there was a problem.

Hetty smiled slightly then turned to Annabel. "Did you enjoy terrifying my agent, Annabel?" she asked.

Callen turned to look at Annabel

"What can I say Hetty," Annabel smiled. "There are some perks of the job that are better than others. Tonight was full of them," she replied with a knowing smile at him. Callen wondered which she had enjoyed more, the kiss in the bar or the driving. His pick was obvious. Annabel moved over to a pile of clothes and pulled out a few items.

Hetty turned slightly toward the other man, "Mr Callen, this is Shawn, and that, is Annabel, as you already know," she introduced. "They are with MI6. I'm trusting her to protect you."

"MI6?" Callen asked, focusing on that more than him needing protecting. "Seriously?" What was MI6 doing in L.A?

"Yes Mr Callen," Hetty confirmed.

"Why do I need protecting?" Callen asked. Hetty looked at him over her glasses and he heard Annabel laugh. He looked over at her to see her getting changed.

Annabel looked up at him. "You know Callen, if you were a gentleman you would turn away whilst I get changed," she said.

He kept watching her. "Never said I was a gentleman."

Annabel smiled, shook her head and turned her back to him as she removed her top. He did turn away though, after all Hetty was standing next to him and he could feel her watching him.

"So Hetty? Why do I need protecting?" Before Hetty could answer, that is assuming she was going to, the door opened again. Callen turned and pulled his gun quickly. Not knowing what was going on was definitely putting him on edge. Hetty stepped closer to him.

"Relax Mr Callen, it is Sam and Sasha, or Grey and Kensi," Hetty assured him.

Callen frowned. More new people? He really didn't like being so far in the dark. "You sure?" he asked.

"Yes," Hetty replied, confident.

Callen glanced behind him and saw that Annabel had moved closer and had her gun drawn too. She hadn't quite managed to do up the buttons on her shirt, slightly distracting but he pulled his eyes away from the view and looked at her face to judge her reaction. She didn't seem to care about her shirt. Her eyes and gun were trained on the vehicle that had just entered and she was tense. Seemingly ready for a fight.

"So why isn't she sure?" Callen asked Hetty as Annabel moved so she was on the other side of him to Hetty but slightly in front, definitely protective of him.

"Because it is my job to not be sure, just in case," Annabel answered. He could hear the tension in her voice and really wanted answers about what was going on.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N - Thanks for the support, reviews alerts etc. They really help. The end of this fic has suddenly taken on a life of it's own, so I'm hoping that I can keep up with the changes that's making to upcoming chapters. Don't want to leave you in suspense too long. ;-)  
_

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

**Chapter 4 **

Sam had been at the bar for fifteen minutes. The only unusual thing he had picked up on was that this place seemed nice. Not seedy or dodgy, but nice. Even the music was ... nice. He shook his head and rolled his eyes at his thoughts. Surely he could think of something other than nice. He softly chuckled at what he could imagine the contents of his report to Hetty would be on this place.

Sam was about to head off when the waitress placed a drink in front of him. He looked at her and frowned.

"I didn't order anything," Sam said.

"From the lady in the corner." The waitress tilted her head in the appropriate direction and walked away.

Sam looked in the direction and saw a delicate looking woman watching him. Definitely not his type, he'd probably break something if he held her hand too tight. He looked down at the drink and back to her. She lifted hers to him and nodded slightly, taking a sip.

Sam frowned, unsure. This wasn't the usual way women tried to pick him up, they tended to be more direct. He looked down at the drink and noticed the napkin under it. It had writing on it. He moved the glass, pretending to take a sip as he read the note.

'Hetty sent me. Follow me when I leave, please' it read.

Sam frowned again and looked back to the woman, but she was gone. How did she know him and how did she know Hetty? He looked around quickly, trying to find her again and saw her moving toward the door. She glanced back to him and smiled. Hetty had said to find out if there was anything odd going on. This would definitely classify as odd.

Alert, Sam pocketed the napkin and followed her out, keeping watch for anything else unusual. She was waiting just outside the door for him.

Sam turned and faced her.

"Who are you?" Sam asked, his hand moving to a position that would allow easy access to his gun.

"Sasha. I'm here to help," she replied simply, not moving.

"With?" Sam raised his eyebrows.

"Keeping your team safe." Sam tensed and wondered what G had done this time.

"Safe? What about them?" Sam asked stepping slightly closer to Sasha, making sure she wasn't free to run. He wanted answers.

"Please check your phone," Sasha said. Sam pulled out his phone, keeping his eyes on Sasha until he had to look. There was a text waiting from Hetty.

'Trust her.'

"What I am I supposed to do?" Sam asked, looking back at Sasha as he slipped his phone back in his jacket pocket.

"Come with me. Now," Sasha replied.

That would be just too easy, let's make it a little harder for her.

"One condition. I drive," Sam demanded. He doubted she would agree if this was a set up.

"Sure," Sasha agreed, surprising him. She smiled. "Not like I could fight you off." Sasha moved away from the wall and slipped her arm through Sam's. They walked to a car, he assumed it was hers as she handed him the keys and walked around to the other side. He got in and started the car.

"Where to?" Sam asked as he pulled out of the car park. Just after he got onto the road, his phone rang. Hetty. He put it on speaker.

"Hetty what's going on?" Sam demanded. This day was just getting freakier by the moment.

"I will explain when you get here. Drive carefully Mr Hanna, and follow her directions. Get rid of your phone now." With that, Hetty hung up.

Sam relaxed slightly, as he started to feel that things might be above board after all. He did wonder though, how Hetty knew he was driving. Today she had certainly been strange. That is, stranger than normal. He hoped he would get some answers soon.

Sam cleared his phone and handed it to Sasha. "I'm supposed to ditch it. Any ideas?" he asked.

"There's a bridge coming up. I'll throw it if you want," Sasha offered and Sam started to pull away at the lights.

"Fine. Don't forget to tell me where we're going."

Sam followed her directions, frequently checking that they weren't being followed. It wasn't long before she directed him down a dark narrow alleyway and his senses went back on high alert. Sasha pressed a button on the dashboard and a door ahead opened.

"That's where we are going," Sasha pointed. Sam drove through to see G, Hetty and two others, staring at the car. Three of them had guns drawn including G, who was slightly behind a woman, which caused Sam to worry slightly why it wasn't the other way around. Sam pulled the car to a stop and opened the door carefully and slowly.

"Hey G, don't shoot," Sam called out.

Callen breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his gun, as did the other male. The female on the other hand, waited until Sam and Sasha stepped out of the car.

Callen bit back a laugh when he saw the woman who had brought Sam in. She looked so fragile and small. If Sam had put up a fight, there was no way she could have got him to come in. He wondered what she had done to convince him, and if Sam had the same interesting introduction as he had with Annabel.

"G, you all right?" Sam asked as he stepped over to them, glancing at Hetty, Annabel and the other guy.

"Yeah," Callen nodded. "Confused but fine," he continued, giving Sam a reassuring look. He could see Sam was looking for some sign from either Hetty or himself that things were okay.

Sam turned his attention to Hetty and tried to figure her out, or get some idea what was going on.

"What's the deal Hetty?" Sam asked, his impatience clear in his tone. "Thought we were on a fact finding mission."

"That is what I said," Hetty replied.

"So?" Sam prompted. The lack of communication, splitting them all up. He'd been right,. Something had been off about the 'mission'.

"Miss Blye should be here soon, then we'll talk," Hetty assured him.

Just then, Annabel took a sharp breath in, causing everyone to look at her.

"Grey," she whispered as she let the breath out reached for her phone, dialing quickly and placing it on speaker.

Callen frowned. It deepened when he noticed Hetty was looking concerned at Annabel. He turned his gaze to his newly appointed bodyguard and watched the anxious expression on her face, whilst she waited for someone to answer.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N - Thanks for the amazing response. It's certainly helping keep me motivated to get the next chapter up._

_Which I have done, because I don't leave coreymason in suspense too long about Kensi. Thanks for the encouragement._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

**Chapter 5**

Kensi walked into the bar and looked around, trying to decide where to head to first. The next moment someone, a man, pulled her into his arms.

"You're late." He looked down at her, into her eyes. She was about to make a move to pull away when he continued to speak and she stopped, intrigued by what he said.

"Hetty told you to be here ten minutes ago," he said softly, pulling her closer. She let him. "We have to go now Kensi. There is no more time," he added.

"You would be?" Kensi asked, not moving.

"Your bodyguard. Now lets go," he whispered in her ear and then turned them and walked out the door, arm around her shoulder and dropping a kiss on her head. He was taller than her, though normally she would have been his height, except Hetty hadn't put her in heels this time.

"Do you have a name?" Kensi asked once outside.

"Grey," he replied.

"As in the color or the TV show?" Kensi asked. He looked at her oddly. She noticed the light scar that ran down his left cheek.

"For you, the TV show."

They arrived at the car and as he reached into his pocket for the key, they heard a voice behind them, "Don't move."

Grey spun around, pushing Kensi behind him and pulled out a gun. Not quite quick enough as one of the three men, who were standing a little away from them, fired.

Kensi heard Grey groan loudly as one of the bullets got him. He started firing back and Kensi saw the three duck for cover behind some other cars, and return fire. Grey handed her the keys and ordered, "Get in and drive."

Kensi opened the door and slid across to the drivers seat, starting the car quickly. A bullet slammed into the windscreen but it didn't shatter. _What the hell was he doing with a bullet proof car?_

The moment she had the car started, Grey jumped in beside her and closed the door. Kensi floored the accelerator and took off. The car seemed decent as well as bullet proof.

"Who the hell were they?" Kensi asked as she almost ran down one of them on her way out of the car park. Grey glanced behind to see them jump into a car to pursue them.

"Go Kensi, lose em," he ordered as his phone rang. He answered it, putting it on speaker and quickly attaching it to the dashboard, so he could still be free to shoot if necessary.

"You're hurt. What's going on?" Kensi heard a female voice say, before Grey had a chance to say anything.

"Hey Bel. You know, not a good time," Grey replied as he held on as Kensi took turn after turn with squealing tyres, trying to loose their tail.

"Tell me," Annabel demanded.

"Got hit on the shoulder, nothing big. You can fix," Grey reassured her.

"You being followed?" Annabel asked.

Grey smiled despite their situation. _Couldn't get anything by that girl. _

"Yeah," he replied, as he continued to watch behind them. They seemed to be getting further away. Hopefully Kensi would lose them soon.

"Who's driving?"

"Kensi," Grey answered, glancing at the woman in the seat next to him. He was pleased to see that she was clearly focused on what she was doing and didn't actually seem scared. She even looked like she was having a good time.

"Grey, you know the deal. Five minutes. I don't hear from you, we go and you're on your own," Annabel told him. He knew the deal.

Kensi frowned, wondering if that meant what she thought it did.

"I know Bel," Grey replied. "Talk to you soon." Grey set a timer on the phone quickly after hanging up.

"Whose Bel?" Kensi asked, now that her bodyguard was finished talking. She had questions and wanted answers.

"Just concentrate on driving," Grey ordered as he turned and looked behind him, just as another car seemed to come out of nowhere and join the pursuit.

"Damn," Kensi swore. "Not another one."

Grey looked up at the sunroof. He opened it and moved, glancing down at Kensi and made his request known, "Not too many turns for just a minute okay?"

"Make it quick and make it good," Kensi replied and tried to give him what he needed. He moved quickly and took his shots, accurate enough to blow out the tyres and hopefully block the road. He came back in quickly and closed the roof, turning and watching behind them again.

"So, who's Bel? And how did she know you were hurt?" Kensi asked, back to weaving again.

"For this mission, the boss," Grey said.

_For this mission? _

Kensi let out an exasperated sigh. "Look, I'm trusting you. I have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on. The least you can do is answer a few simple questions. She knew you were hurt. How?" Kensi asked again.

"It's a twin thing."

Kensi frowned. "She's your sister?"

"Twin sister," Grey confirmed.

_Twin sister and boss?_

"And you are allowed to work with her?" Kensi flew around a couple of corners in quick succession and she found a dark place to park, killing the lights.

"The powers that be determined that the benefits outweighed the risks," Grey answered with a chuckle.

"What benefits?" Kensi asked, curious. Now she had a chance to check out this bodyguard of hers. Tall, brown hair, green eyes, and something about him that suggested he done this all before. Perhaps it was the scar. Perhaps it was because he was remarkably calm, considering everything that had just happened. Even Callen wouldn't have been so calm after the driving she had just pulled off. She gathered he wasn't just your average, run of the mill, bodyguard.

"Communication in some situations without the need for words was one of them," Grey answered. His tone turned serious as he asked her, "Have we lost them?"

"Yep," Kensi replied with a smile, pleased with herself. This may not have been an easy night but it was certainly fun. She'd always enjoyed a good car chase, at least as long as she won, which ever side she happened to be on.

"Good, cause in about thirty seconds we were going to be on our own." Grey dialed his phone quickly.

"Grey?" Annabel answered. They could both hear the relief in her voice and Grey smiled.

"Bel, damn this girl can drive. We'll be there soon. Gonna give it a couple more minutes before heading in, just in case," Grey said.

"How bad is the shoulder?" Annabel asked. Kensi glanced over at his shoulder. It was still bleeding but only slightly. Looked like it was only a graze, which was a good sign. She had no idea what was going on or where they were going and if he passed out on her, she'd be in a whole lot more trouble than she felt she was already.

"A couple of stitches, maybe. That's about it, and a clean up," Grey replied, silently thankful it was just a graze. Bel was good, but not that gentle when it came to digging out bullets.

"What about Kensi? She good?" Annabel asked.

Grey glanced over at her and Kensi nodded.

"She's good," Grey replied. Hetty had been right, she really could drive. "Everyone else there?"

Kensi frowned again. Did this mean it wasn't just about her?

"Yep, just waiting for you," came Annabel's response.

"So, what was yours like?" Grey asked. He figured it was about time to lighten his little sister's mood. He knew that she would have been distressed for the last few minutes, even if she didn't show it to anyone.

"Easy to get, thinks highly of himself." She paused briefly. "Can occasionally take orders and doesn't like it when I drive," Annabel replied.

"Just like me then. Is he cute too?" Grey asked.

"Grey, enough," Annabel said. He raised his eyebrows at that. Annabel rarely dodged his questions. He turned to Kensi and frowned.

"Kensi? This guy Callen, he cute?" he asked.

"Maybe. Short hair, rough looks with deep blue eyes," Kensi replied, glancing at him.

"No wonder you are already half in love then Bel," Grey said, holding back a chuckle, especially at Annabel's answer.

"Grey shut up and get in here. Remember I control the pain relief."

"Yes Ma'am. We're heading in now." Grey nodded to Kensi, who started the car and looked at him for directions. He switched his phone to GPS mode after he ended the call.

"Ditch your phone before we go," Grey ordered. Kensi pulled it out, cleared it and slipped out of the car to put it under a tyre before driving off.

"So, this Callen. Anything I should know about him?" Grey asked once they were on the move.

"Why?" Kensi asked, curious about the line of questioning.

"Annabel's his bodyguard. Should I be worried?" Grey asked. He already was, with Annabel's evasiveness to his question. He was looking forward to seeing her in person around this Callen guy. It would give him a lot more to go on.

"About him as in who she is protecting or about him as the man?" Kensi asked. So this was at least about her and Callen. She wondered whether Sam was caught up in this craziness. Hetty had sent them all out to bars tonight.

"Both," Grey said seriously.

_Protective brother first then team mate then._

"If Hetty is around, she'll keep him mostly in line and make him accept the protection. As for the man," Kensi shrugged, "he doesn't date much so can't tell you what his type is. Though he does say he doesn't date cops," Kensi finished.

"Does Annabel classify as a cop though? Not the same country," Grey queried.

"Where are you from?" Kensi asked. She could have sworn he was from L.A.

"MI6," Grey replied.

Kensi glanced across at him and cocked an eyebrow. "UK?" she asked,

"Yep."

"Didn't notice an accent."

"Don't have one, unless I want one," Grey said in a distinctly Australian accent.

Kensi smiled. "I'm impressed." The Australian accent actually sounded geniune, not like the way it was portrayed on TV here.

"Yes, a talent. Makes parties a whole lot more fun," he replied, this time in an American accent again.

"I'll bet," Kensi replied.

"It is amazing the number of women who won't look at you unless you are foreign." This time with a touch of French.

This time Kensi laughed. "Oh you're good. Bet it comes in handy in your line of work," she said.

"It's a talent built over many years." Grey settled back into his native British accent.

"So, should I be worried about your sister?" Kensi asked, changing the direction of the conversation.

"As in?" Grey asked.

"She gonna fall for my boss or actually protect him?" Kensi asked. She was reasonably confident there wouldn't be a problem the other way around. Callen had never broken his no cops rule since she'd known him.

"She'll do her job," Grey answered. "We're here," he said as Kensi pulled into a narrow alleyway. "Turn off the lights."

Kensi did and could barely see. Grey reached and pushed a button on the dashboard and she saw a door up ahead open.

"Go through and we're home, at least temporarily," Grey said.

"Answers?" Kensi asked.

"I'm sure Hetty will fill you in," Grey replied as she pulled them through the door.

Kensi looked to see the line up of people, pointing guns at them, except Hetty. She tensed.

"It's okay Kensi, relax," Grey told her as she pulled the car to a stop.

Grey put down his window and called out, "Bel, just us. We're clean."


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N - This chapter starts a little bit back from the end of the previous one, where Chapter 4 left off, when Annabel called Grey. It gives the other side of the conversation on the phone. _

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

**Chapter 6 **

"You're hurt. What's going on?" Annabel asked as soon as Grey picked up, not giving him a chance to say anything. The others moved closer to listen.

"Hey Bel. You know, not a good time," Grey answered. They could all hear the sound of tyres squealing. Callen and Sam frowned. What was happening with Kensi? They didn't like the sound of what they were hearing.

"Tell me," Annabel demanded.

"Got hit on the shoulder, nothing big. You can fix," Grey replied. The squealing of tyres continued and Annabel asked, "You being followed?"

"Yeah," Grey replied.

"Who's driving?" Annabel asked.

"Kensi," Grey said.

Callen glanced at Sam and smiled, though Sam didn't understand the full meaning behind it. He'd had the scary ride with Annabel and now, whoever Grey was, he was getting one with Kensi. It was almost a satisfying form of payback. Though he was worried that Kensi was being followed, but if anyone could lose a tail, she could.

Annabel took a calming breath. Hopefully Kensi knew her way around this city of hers enough to lose the tail.

"Grey, you know the deal. Five minutes. I don't hear from you, we go and you're on your own," Annabel warned.

Callen frowned. What was she talking about? They wouldn't be leaving without Kensi.

"I know Bel," Grey replied. "Talk to you soon."

Annabel hung up. Callen noticed her eyes close briefly as she took another deep breath before she looked up.

"Start cleaning and packing," Annabel ordered. "If we don't hear from them in five, we go." She stood up and walked over to the clothes pile and started to throw things in a bag. Callen looked at Sam. They were both concerned. He looked at Hetty,

"Do as she says," Hetty replied, nodding at both Callen and Sam, before she moved over to Shawn and started helping with the packing and loading things into a large SUV. Sasha pulled Sam around and handed him some cleaning materials and pointed to the pick up cars.

Callen walked over to Annabel, reached for her arm and pulled her around to face. Her eyes narrowed at him. He had been slightly rough in his haste, but he didn't let her go.

"We can't go without Kensi," Callen stated. He wasn't leaving his team mate behind. If things were this bad that Hetty had planned this, then Kensi needed them.

"We will if we have to," Annabel replied, holding his gaze, trying to make him understand how important this was.

"She is a member of my team," Callen said. _I won't leave anyone behind._

Annabel understood how hard this was, more than he could know.

"My job is to protect _you,_" she said. "If they are compromised, we have to go. We can not wait," Annabel continued, as she pulled gently on his hold so he released her and she turned back to the packing.

"I won't leave without her."

Annabel turned back to him. "Look, she is with Grey. As long as she can get them away from whoever is tailing them, he will protect her. Even injured, he can still do his job better than anyone I know. I can't risk you," Annabel said. "Please understand."

"I don't know you or him. I won't leave..." Annabel cut him off.

"You care about her. I get it. I care about him too, he is my life. But you are the job. _You_ are who _I_ need to protect. Now if you are done, please, start helping. We don't have much time." Annabel turned away from him again.

Callen didn't know what to do. He could understand the concern and the seriousness of everything she said. She seemed sincere, but he couldn't leave Kensi alone. He turned and looked around. Finding Hetty, he started to move toward her but stopped at the look she gave him. He moved over to Sam and started to help clean out the cars that had been used for the pick ups, removing fingerprints, making sure nothing was left inside.

When Annabel's phone rang, she quickly answered it, putting it on speaker as she had before. Every one here was concerned and it would certainly save time if she didn't have to repeat everything again.

Callen and Sam dropped what they were doing and moved closer. As did Hetty.

"Grey?"

"Bel, damn this girl can drive. We'll be there soon. Gonna give it a couple more minutes before heading in, just in case."

Annabel breathed a sigh of relief and looked over at Callen who was sharing a smile with Sam. That was one fight she was glad she didn't have to have. She'd witnessed the determination in his eyes not to leave Kensi behind.

"Knew she could do it," Sam said.

"Wasn't worried at all," Callen agreed, and looked back at Annabel.

"How bad is the shoulder?" Annabel asked.

"A couple of stitches, maybe, that's about it, and a clean up," Grey replied.

"What about Kensi? She good?" she asked. Callen held his breath as he waited for the answer to that question. Didn't have to do it for long.

"She's good," Grey replied quickly. "Everyone else there?"

"Yep, just waiting for you," Annabel said.

"So, what was yours like?" Grey asked.

Annabel glanced over at Callen. "Easy to get, thinks highly of himself." She paused briefly and smiled. "Can occasionally take orders and doesn't like it when I drive."

Callen raised his eyebrows at that, she thought she had him pegged. Okay, so she was close.

"Just like me. Is he cute too?" Grey asked.

"Grey enough," Annabel said, and Callen watched the smile turned to frown and a some colour appear on her cheeks. Interesting response.

"Kensi? This Callen guy cute?" Annabel heard Grey ask.

"Maybe, short hair, rough looks with deep blue eyes," they heard Kensi reply.

"No wonder you are already half in love then Bel," Grey said. Annabel could hear the laughter in his voice as he teased her. She avoided Callen's gaze. She could feel him watching her.

"Grey shut up and get in here. Remember I control the pain relief," she said.

"Yes Ma'am. We're heading in now," Grey finished and hung up.

Annabel hung up too. She finally looked up and saw a quizzical look on Callen's face. She shook her head slightly and looked away. Grey could be seriously annoying when he wanted to be, but oddly, it was part of what she loved about him.

Five minutes later the door opened again. This time all of them drew their guns and waited, Annabel resuming her protective position in front of Callen.

One of the windows lowered.

"Bel, just us. We're clean," Grey called out.

Annabel lowered her gun and walked quickly to the car.

Callen and Sam headed straight to Kensi's door, Callen's gaze taking in the dents and scratches on the paintwork of the vehicle. He frowned. Bullet proof? He wondered whether his had been as well. Kensi and Grey stepped out of the car and Sam and Callen moved quickly to her side, both giving the young agent a quick hug to reassure themselves she was okay.

"You okay Kenz?" Sam asked as they both looked her over.

"I'm fine guys. What's going on?" Kensi asked, looking around at everyone, confused.

Callen turned to Hetty. "About to find out." He saw Annabel take Grey and make him sit. Hetty followed, so did the rest of them as they listened to the exchange between Annabel and Grey.

"How did this happen?" Annabel asked Grey as she opened the first aid kit and started to clean him up.

Grey shook his head. "Don't know. She was only there a minute before we left and they were there in the car park," he replied.

Callen tensed. Someone had got that close to Kensi. This was not good.

"No one was supposed to know," Annabel replied with a frown. "Okay. About to stitch you up. What do you need?"

"I'm good. Just get it done so we can get out of here," Grey replied.

Callen pulled his gaze from them, not being fond of needles, as Hetty cleared her throat.

"Now that we are all here, this is what is happening," Hetty started.

"The team has been compromised. It appears that someone within NCIS has passed on information regarding the three of you and myself. Files were sent to someone outside. Everything about you, your missions, your histories. Eric stumbled across it this morning and was able to trace some details. We don't know who we can trust in NCIS anymore."

"You really believe it was someone within?" Kensi asked.

Hetty nodded. "It certainly appeared that way to Eric."

"Who?" asked Sam.

Hetty shook her head. "Until I have definite confirmation, I will not reveal that. What Eric found indicated that they were planning on taking you tomorrow. For what, and how, we are not sure. I called in a favour from MI6 to help protect you. Eric is on his way to Washington to work with Abby and Agent Gibbs to try and find out who is behind this. For now, with the help of Annabel and her team, we are going to disappear until this is over."

"Hetty we could have disappeared on our own," Callen said. They became someone else all the time. It was what they did. Sam and Kensi nodded their agreement.

"Yes, we could have," Hetty replied, "however, we need to do more than disappear. We need to stay out of the investigation and we all know how difficult that can be." Hetty gave Callen one of her looks, daring him to deny her observation. He didn't bite. She was right and he gave her points on that one, considering what had happened the last time he was supposed to disappear.

Sam chuckled.

"They know everything about you, they know how you operate, they know all of your aliases. Having someone else plan the details of our disappearance will, hopefully, throw them off the scent enough for us to effectively disappear," Hetty finished.

"So where are we going?" Kensi asked.

"Airport," Annabel answered. "We have a private plane. We'll change the destination mid-flight." She had finished stitching up Grey and was cleaning up.

"Official introductions then we move. Hetty, would you like to do the honours?" Annabel asked.

"Sam, Kensi, Callen, Annabel, Grey, Sasha and Shawn," Hetty said pointing to the appropriate individuals. "I trust Annabel and her team to do what I have asked. Please, trust them as well," Hetty said to her team. They all nodded.

Callen wondered just why Hetty trusted them so much.

"Hetty?"

"Yes Miss Blye?" Hetty turned to face her youngest agent and noted the concern on her face.

"What about Nate?" Kensi asked.

Callen felt slightly guilty that he hadn't even thought about Nate and whether or not he was in danger. He was part of this team as well.

"Nate was in no danger. I have left him responsible for informing the Director that the team has gone away."

"Time to go," Annabel interrupted.

"Who's driving?" Callen asked, with a quick glance at her. He might not like Kensi's driving sometimes but at least she knew which side to drive on.

"Shawn," Annabel answered, a smile twitching on her lips as she looked at him. "He won't be joining us on the plane. We need someone to clean up here and take the car from the airport."


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N - Okay, so I'm hoping this chapter is good. Aside from a tiny bit in Second Chance and Remember You.., I haven't written much about Gibbs and Abby. So I hope this works. Please let me know._

_Thanks for all the support, by way of reviews, alerts etc. It's been great._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

**Chapter 7**

It took Eric an hour to get from the office, back to his apartment, pack a few things and leave for the airport. He tried to remember everything he could from being around his team mates. How not to get noticed, what to do, how to do it. He'd retrieved the wad of cash from inside the toilet cistern, pulled out the fake I.D's and credit cards that Hetty had issued him. They had come with strict instructions to never use it unless the end of the world was near. He figured this counted.

It took him three flights to get to Washington, not taking the direct route and using different I.D's on each, even taking a bus for two hours to get a flight from a different airport. By the time he arrived in D.C, it was almost midnight. He'd only just made it on the last arriving flight of the night.

Eric jumped in a cab and gave an address close to Abby's. He'd have a few minutes walk but that didn't matter. He just had to make sure there was no record of anyone being dropped at Abby's door.

It was just after one am. Eric was standing outside Abby's apartment. In all the time he had today, he hadn't even considered what he was going to say. He hadn't even opened his computer on any of the flights or whilst waiting. He'd brought a book at LAX, a real one with pages and everything. He had the paper-cuts to prove it.

How was he going to tell Abby that the people she worked with might not be as good as she thought?

He knocked, waited and knocked again.

A sleepy Abby finally answered.

"Eric?" She frowned at him.

"Hey Abby," Eric replied with a nervous smile.

"What are you doing here? I mean, not that you're not welcome, but my apartment is a long way from L.A." Abby replied as she stepped back to let him in the door.

When he didn't move Abby added, "You can come in, I won't bite."

Eric almost laughed and finally moved. Abby closed the door and turned back to Eric. She smiled at the look on his face as he looked around her apartment. It was very much like the way she dressed, mostly black, white and some dashes of red around the place. Very Abby'ish, Eric thought.

"What's going on Eric? What's wrong?" Abby asked concerned when Eric stopped checking out her decor and turned to her.

"Everything," Eric replied. This was going to be so hard. "Callen's in trouble, Kensi too."

Abby frowned. "From who?"

"That's the problem," Eric admitted. "We're not entirely sure. I need your help to find out."

"We can help. I'll call the team. We can go to the office and put out heads together," Abby said. She moved towards her bedroom, going to get changed but stopped at Eric's response.

"No we can't."

Abby turned and saw the scared expression on his face. "Why not?"

Eric took a deep calming breath. She's not going to kill me, even if she could do it without leaving a shred of evidence.

"Because it looks like some of them might be involved," he said quickly.

"Are you trying to tell me that my team are out to get Callen?" She had a soft spot for Callen, since he'd saved her life back in L.A.

"No," he shook his head, "not exactly. But it looks like some of them may have been involved in giving someone Callen and Kensi's complete files. _Everything _we had on them."

"Who? Show me," Abby demanded, as she stepped back closer to him.

"Where can I plug this in?" Eric asked as he pulled out his computer. Abby turned and led the way to another room. This one wasn't decorated Abby'ish, unless the mass of computer equipment counted, which was entirely possible. You wouldn't even think you were in the same apartment. She cleared some space and he set up his computer whilst she grabbed an extra chair.

An hour later, Abby looked at Eric.

"That does look really bad, but I still can't believe they'd be involved," she said.

"I know, but we can't trust them until we are sure," Eric replied. "Can you access the network at the office from here?"

Abby rolled her eyes, "Of course I can. But first, I'm going to call Gibbs."

Eric frowned. "Is that a good idea? It's almost three in the morning. Won't he be a little pissed?"

"Not with me," Abby assured him as she picked up the phone and dialed.

"Good morning sleepy head," Abby said cheerily.

"Abs, this better be good," Gibbs answered, sounding slightly grumpy.

"It is. Eric's here," Abby replied. She grinned at Eric

"What? At your apartment?"

"Yep."

"And what?" Gibbs asked. "You don't know what to do with a boy Abs?"

"Gibbs!" Abby reprimanded. She heard Gibbs chuckle slightly.

He followed it up with, "Sorry." Gibbs was sounding more awake now. "What's wrong?" he asked her, concerned.

"Callen's in trouble," Abby stated.

"Make sure the coffee's on. You know how I like it," Gibbs replied. Abby could hear the rustle of him pulling on clothes.

"Disgusting," she answered, smiling at Eric and giving him a thumbs up.

"See you soon Abs," Gibbs replied. She could hear the smile in his voice. She didn't get the chance to reply before Gibbs had hung up.

She turned to Eric. "He's on his way." Abby went and started the coffee. It was about twenty minutes to her place from Gibbs', but she figured he'd make it in less than ten, given the time of the morning and that this had to do with Callen.

At the knock on the door, Eric jumped. Abby glanced at the clock and smiled. Nine minutes. She walked to the door and opened it with a smile.

"Right on time," Abby said by way of welcome.

Gibbs walked through and dropped a kiss on her head and turned to Eric.

"Eric, is it?" he asked as he eyed the L.A techie.

Eric nodded.

"So, what's this about Callen being in trouble?" Gibbs asked as he glanced between the two of them.

Abby opened her mouth to answer, but Gibbs stopped her.

"It's three in the morning Abs. Fifty words or less," he instructed.

Abby frowned. "You're no fun."

"Forty seven," Gibbs reminded her. Abby rolled her eyes.

"Fine...NCIS compromised. Possibly Vance and some of our team involved. Callen and Kensi targets. Bad people. Need to find who. Eric trusts me. Callen trusts you. No one else to know. Hetty's orders. Whole team on the run. Don't know where."

Abby said all of this without taking a breath.

"Well done Abs." Gibbs smiled. "You still have five more to go."

Abby glared at him, cheekily, which made Eric smile.

"I repeat you're no fun," Abby added, using up the rest of her fifty words.

Gibbs grinned and Abby continued. "You know if I didn't love you, I wouldn't have done that."

"I know."

"Good."

Gibbs turned to Eric and frowned. "You really think it's that bad Eric?"

Eric nodded. "It looks that way. I need to look into it further. I need Abby's help and access to your network."

Gibbs looked at Abby. "You can do that from here right Abby?"

"Yep," Abby agreed.

"Get started then." Abby gave a small salute and sat down at her computer. Eric relaxed slightly, knowing that he had at least followed this part of Hetty's orders. He had Abby and Gibbs on side, helping him and not thinking he was just way off base with what he had found. They seemed to trust him that this might be serious. Eric sat beside Abby whilst she got her computer set up with his, and Gibbs moved to the kitchen and poured himself some coffee.

This was going to be a long day.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N - Finally got this bit sorted. It's a bit long, decided not to be cruel and leave it as a cliffhanger. It does change views in a couple of places, hopefully it won't be too hard to follow._

_Thanks for the support, reviews, alerts and all. Very much appreciated._

_Hope you enjoy._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

**Chapter 8**

They all managed to fit. Turned out it was eight-seater SUV, just enough room for them all. Hetty and Sasha, being the two smallest, took the two back seats facing the rear, with the bags. Grey and Sam sat up front, next to Shawn who was driving, with Callen, Kensi and Annabel in the middle row of seats. The windows were heavily tinted and, Callen guessed anyway, probably bullet proof. He wondered just how much pull Hetty had at MI6, but wasn't actually game to ask the question.

"How did they get so close to Kensi?" Callen asked, once they were underway. It had been worrying him for a while now, wondering if someone had been watching her for days or whether it was just coincidence that they had found her tonight.

Annabel frowned as she looked at him, concerned, and shook her head. "I don't know. No one outside of us knew what was happening. Even we only knew where our individual pick ups were, not the others. They must have already been following her," she replied.

"Could they have been following Grey?" Sam suggested, not liking the idea that someone had been following one of them, preferring to hope that they'd been following someone else.

"What?" Annabel asked, sounding slightly shocked at the possibility.

Callen frowned. If Hetty had trusted these people and that trust was misplaced, they were in a whole lot more trouble than he thought.

"NCIS has been compromised. Maybe MI6 was as well," Kensi said as she followed along Sam's line of thought

"Doubt it." Annabel frowned. "Though if it has, it's at the very top."

"Meaning?" Callen asked her.

"Our orders came from our boss. _The_ boss. He bypassed everyone, came directly to Grey and I. He assured us that we were the only ones who knew about this mission."

"Why?" Why the secrecy, the security? Why did he get a feeling there was a whole lot more to this than Hetty had told them?

"Because Mr Callen," Hetty responded from behind him, "I asked him to keep this quiet."

So Hetty had pull with the top boss of MI6. He was curious about that, but he'd save that question for another day.

"Could someone have been tracking you individually? Put something on your clothes, in your bag?" Sam asked.

Annabel smiled. "That is possible, however if they did, they would think we hadn't moved from the airport."

Callen looked at her inquisitively, the lights from the street giving her enough light to see it. She smiled and continued to explain. "Hetty had a complete change of clothes, cash, phones, everything including a car, waiting at the airport for us."

"As were all of your things new," Hetty added. "Miss Blye was the one who noticed the new clothes, if you remember."

That would explain why Hetty had been out for so much of the day.

"So that leaves that they were already following me," Kensi concluded, repeating Annabel's earlier theory.

"It's the only likely explanation. Perhaps they changed their original plans," she suggested.

"Maybe," Callen said. He was wondering if whoever it was that sent out their files might have overheard something today and passed it on. At least they were all safe, for now.

The rest of the trip was quiet. Shawn drove them straight onto the tarmac when they arrived at the airport. Callen had been slightly apprehensive at the security gate, but Shawn had a pass and they were waved on through; nice, quick and clean. No one even looked in the back.

Annabel quickly ushered Callen straight on the plane, with Grey and Kensi closely following. The others came shortly after, all carrying something from the vehicle. After it was stowed, Callen watched as Shawn gave Annabel a hug and whispered something to her. She smiled back, nodded and kissed him on the cheek. Shawn nodded to Grey and Sasha and glanced at the rest of them, his gaze falling on Hetty last. Hetty gave a small nod back and a smile. Shawn returned the smile with a grin, which made him seem not so scary after all, and small salute, which made Hetty's smile broaden slightly. Callen's curiosity grew about how Hetty knew and trusted these people.

"Nice," Sam commented as he took in their surroundings.

It was a private jet with comfortable, spacious leather seats, with what looked like a bar complete with drinks and food. Callen was curious about what the bathroom might be like. Annabel had directed Callen into a window seat, Kensi in the one opposite him. Grey took the seat next to Kensi, whilst Annabel sat next to him.

"Impressive indeed," added Hetty, who was sitting with Sam and Sasha on the other side of the aisle.

Annabel smiled. "It's much more convenient than having to wait for a scheduled flight. Good to sleep on too," she said.

"You guys came over on this?" Kensi asked. They'd never had anything like this. Kensi guessed that MI6 had a slightly bigger budget than OSP.

"Yep," Grey answered, settling back. Callen had noticed the quick check over of Kensi that Grey made, obviously making sure she was strapped in properly. He felt reassured by that level of detail.

"Everyone ready?" asked someone Callen assumed to be the pilot, who had walked up to them, followed by a female, the hostess maybe. Not just a nice plane but service too.

"All set Adrian," Annabel frowned as she saw the woman standing behind him. "Who's this?" she asked, slightly apprehensive at seeing someone new on the plane.

Adrian smiled reassuringly. "This is Debbie. Mandy got sick a few hours ago. I took her to her cousin that lives here. I'll pick her up when I come back through. Mandy is one of our US standby staff. Flown with her before."

Annabel relaxed at his words. She'd known Adrian for years and trusted him. "Get us out of here please Sir," Annabel replied with a smile.

Callen glanced over at Hetty, once the pilot and hostess had stepped into and closed the cockpit door. "What next?" he asked.

"That's up to Annabel," Hetty said, looking at the woman in question. Callen turned to face her.

"We get up, we change direction mid-flight and head to the safe house. It'll take about a day and a half all up to get there. There'll be some driving and hiking as well," Annabel replied.

"Just where are you taking us?" Sam asked.

"Where no one will find us, unless we want them to," she replied, looking at Sam.

Whilst that all sounded well and good, in regard to keeping the away from the bad guys, it wasn't enough information for Callen. Some destination a day and a half away, which included hiking. Could be anywhere. He hated being in the dark about things.

"You know Hetty," Callen turned to his boss as he spoke, "I don't like not knowing."

"I know Mr Callen. That is part of the reason we are here," Hetty replied. Sam chuckled, Kensi managed to keep hers to just a smile.

"Hetty," Callen said taking a firm tone with his boss.

"Callen, look at it this way," Annabel said, "There are four of you and three of us. If we are the bad guys, we've outnumbered ourselves. Please, we are here to keep all of you safe and alive. Please trust us at least a little, so we can do our job," she pleaded with him.

"I don't know you," Callen said. Not that he didn't want to, and, even though he did instinctively trust her, it was hard to trust someone that much with your life and the lives of those you cared about, when you didn't know them at all.

"I don't know you either, but here I am," Annabel said, holding his gaze, hoping he could see that she was here to help. She need him to trust her, at least.

"Why are you here?" Callen asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Because Hetty asked me to be," Annabel answered truthfully.

That wasn't enough for him. "Why did you ask her Hetty?" Callen looked back to Hetty and waited for her answer.

"Because I trust her," Hetty said. She knew that Callen would need more so she complied. "She risked her life for me, when she didn't even know my name. I trust her to keep _you _alive," Hetty added looking directly at Callen.

"And Grey?" Kensi asked. Hetty turned to her and smiled.

"You trust Annabel, you trust Grey. They are a package," Hetty smiled at Grey, a smile that was one of admiration, respect and trust. "Also, personal experience," Hetty added.

Whilst Hetty was answering his questions, with more information than he would have expected, what she was giving, provoked even more questions. Only he knew he didn't really stand a chance to get those answers. Hetty was secretive, only providing enough information to intrigue, never revealing all.

"Sasha?" Sam asked, glancing at his bodyguard.

"Sasha has been a part of my team for the last two years, Shawn even longer. I trust them with my life," Annabel assured Sam.

Callen turned his attention back to Annabel, "So I'm supposed to trust them with mine?" he asked her.

"No," Annabel answered, turning back to him and holding his gaze, her expression serious as she continued. "You're supposed to trust _me _with yours." They looked at each other, like a silent battle was going on. Callen did trust her, it was instinct. Something about her. It had nothing to do with Hetty. He nodded and saw her smile in relief.

"Perhaps we should all get some rest," Grey said, putting his head back on his chair. "There isn't any more we can talk about anyway, not until we are off the plane."

Hetty nodded her agreement. "Grey is right. The flight gives us a few hours to recover. We'll talk more later," Hetty added.

Callen frowned. "Who are you worried is listening Hetty?" His attention brought back to Annabel as she replied instead.

"Seriously like asking questions don't you?" Annabel asked him.

Callen's lips twitched as he held back a smile.

"Maybe I'm just not liking the response yet," Callen suggested. He noticed a slight blush on Annabel's face and the odd look that Grey gave to her, just before Grey closed his eyes. He wondered what it was between those two. She'd said he was her life. But he hadn't seen any sign of anything romantic between them. "So what's your last name?" he asked her.

"Thought you said names were over rated," Annabel responded.

"First names are, but last names. They can tell you a whole lot," Callen replied.

"Then you'll be disappointed Callen. Annabel is all you are going to get," she replied, putting her head back and closing her eyes.

Callen watched her, waiting for her to look at him but she didn't. Her head started to drop as she fell asleep. He felt someone watching him and turned to see it was Grey. Callen hadn't realised he was still awake.

"Careful Callen," Grey warned.

"Careful about what?" Callen asked.

"Her," Grey replied, with a quick glance at the sleeping Annabel. "I don't take kindly to people messing with her," Grey added.

"Noted," Callen said and closed his eyes. Guess that answers that question. He didn't sleep so when Annabel woke up and he felt her moving next to him, he opened his eyes and looked at her. She smiled slightly, as she ran a hand through her hair then looked at her watch. She frowned, lent forward and touched Grey's knee, waking him up. She motioned for Grey to come closer and whispered something in his ear that Callen couldn't hear. Grey frowned and they got up quickly, together.

"What's up?" Callen asked.

"Stay," Annabel said firmly, putting a hand on his shoulder to push him back into the seat as he tried to stand up. He watched as Annabel and Grey walked toward the back of the plane and opened a cupboard door. Pity he didn't have Kensi's talent at lipreading. Though he didn't need that talent to know that something was wrong. His gut was already telling him that.

Annabel and Grey returned to their seats, concern on their faces, which they quickly covered.

She pressed the call button for the hostess, giving Callen a slight shake of her head as he was about to ask her a question.

"Yes Ma'am," said the hostess as she came up beside them.

"Mandy was going to look into getting a special bottle of wine for us. Do you know if she was able to sort that out, or leave a message with Adrian?" Annabel asked.

"No ma'am." The hostess shook her head. "I'm sorry. She wasn't able to find anyone who had it in stock," the hostess replied.

"Oh well," Annabel gave a small smile, filled with disappointment. "Hadn't been sure she could anyway. Thanks. That was all," Annabel dismissed her.

The hostess walked back to the cockpit and closed the door.

"Tandem parachuting? Any of you done it and can lead? Need a yes no answer now," Annabel asked quickly, looking at the NCIS team.

"Yes," Sam said.

"Yes," Kensi said.

"Yep," Callen replied, frowning at her. He wanted to ask what was going on but there was a sense of urgency about her tone. He'd ask later.

"Good," Annabel said as she looked them all over. "Sam and Hetty, Kensi and Grey, Sasha, you take the bag. Callen, you're with me. When Grey tells you to move, go. Follow his orders. He'll tell you when to jump. Don't argue." She looked at Callen, "We'll be last. Have your gun ready." Annabel moved to get up.

Callen reached out and held her arm, stopping her. "What are you going to do?" he asked, frowning.

"What I have to," she assured him. He saw she was very serious. "I need you to back me up but be ready to go if I say," Annabel continued.

"You wouldn't prefer Grey?" Callen asked.

"I need you," Annabel said simply, before she stood up and walked to the back again. He watched as she slipped on a harness, returned to them and pulled her jacket on to cover it.

Callen watched as Annabel pulled out her gun, held it behind her back and walked toward the front of the plane. He wasn't liking the feel of this.

When Grey ordered them to move Callen followed, somewhat reluctantly, when everything in him told him to go with Annabel. Grey, who was walking behind him, gave him a light shove to get him moving. Callen turned his head and looked at him as he picked up his pace.

"Remember what she said," Grey told him. "Be ready for anything. If she tells you to jump without her. You do it."

A sense of dread settled on him at the thought of leaving her behind. He narrowly stopped himself from demanding that Grey explain what was going on, as he could sense that there wasn't a whole lot of time for explanations.

Callen watched Annabel carefully as he was putting on the parachute. She was standing near the cockpit door, looking out the window, like she was lost in thought. He noticed she was blocking any view that those in the cockpit would have of them through the small window. He wondered if there were cameras and took a quick glance around, but couldn't see any obvious ones.

When Annabel saw that they were all ready, she knocked. The hostess came out and went to close the door, but Annabel put her foot out to stop it and knocked the hostess out with a quick, sharp blow to the head.

Callen watched as she stepped into the cockpit and heard two gun shots. He glanced at his companions and saw the look of concern flash across Grey's face as he glanced toward the cockpit. Callen's focus returned to her, saw her at the control panel and fought back the urge to ask Grey what the hell was going on. He turned back to see Grey finished getting strapped in and checking everyone over. He glanced at Sam and Hetty and held back a smile at the sight of Hetty strapped to Sam's chest, her feet dangling down around his knees. She looked remarkably calm, as if nothing in the world was odd about her position.

"Sasha go," Grey said as he opened the doors and they all held on.

Grey counted to five, as he stood on the other side of the door and got strapped to Kensi, who had the parachute on. It wasn't quite as odd a sight as Hetty strapped to Sam.

"Sam, now," Grey ordered.

Sam jumped, Hetty strapped to him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Sam was strapped into his parachute, Hetty into her harness. He looked at the little woman and wondered just how he was going to strap her on to him.

"Mr Hanna I am sure you are perfectly capable of holding me up whilst Grey does those clips up. Those muscles of yours are real, correct?"

Sam smiled, despite the situation. "Yes Hetty, they're real."

Grey quickly checked that everyone was in their respective harnesses correctly and lined them up. Sam lifted Hetty and Grey clipped them up. Sam held onto her and waited patiently. Callen glanced over at them and Sam saw him holding back a smile. Sasha was ready, bag strapped to her front and waiting just beside the door. At the sound of gunfire they all glanced toward the cockpit.

"Sasha go," Grey said as he opened the doors and they all held on tight.

Grey counted to five as he and Kensi buckled up.

"Sam, now."

Sam jumped and then they were falling through the dark night, the moon giving them a certain amount of visibility. Enough for a safe landing. Grey had assured them that they were over some fairly open spaces.

"Are you going to pull the cord Mr Hanna or are were you planning on plummeting to the ground, hoping I was enough of a cushion?"

"Hetty, you need to trust me," Sam said as he pulled the cord anyway, even though he knew they could go a bit further. They slowed rapidly. "You have a problem with freefalling?" Sam asked.

"Only when I can't see the ground," Hetty said. She had removed her glasses before they jumped, a precautionary measure. "I much prefer a slow pace and the knowledge that the earth and myself are not going to meet unexpectedly and intimately."

Sam chuckled. "I know what I am doing Hetty. I promise you a smooth landing. You won't even touch the ground until we have come to a complete stop."

"Ensure that is the case Mr Hanna."

Ensure it he did. They landed in a decent clearing, he waited until he was completely stable before he asked, "Are you ready to walk on your own?"

"Yes Mr Hanna, that would be appreciated."

Sam unclipped Hetty's bottom two buckles and bent down to allow her feet to touch the ground before he undid the other two.

"Nicely done Mr Hanna. Perfect landing,"

"Did you expect anything less? Don't answer that," he added quickly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Grey started counting again.

"Good luck," Grey said to Callen, with a glance at Annabel before he and Kensi jumped.

Neither of them said anything until Grey told Kensi it was time to pull the cord. She did as instructed. Once they slowed and she had control of their descent, she asked him, "So why am I in control?"

"Because the force behind the deployment of that chute may have caused the stitches to rip, and it will be easier for you to direct us. And believe me, Bel wouldn't have been as gentle with me restitching it, if I'd been stupid enough to risk it," Grey replied.

"This is going to be weird landing though. You're basically piggybacking me," Kensi added.

Grey smiled. "Trust me Kensi, I've carried heavier on my back."

"Falling through the sky?"

"No, but I am quite capable of this," he assured her.

"We'll see," Kensi grinned even though he couldn't see it. She felt completely safe with him. He had taken a bullet protection her so maybe that was part of it.

"Not like you have a choice. My feet are going to hit first," Grey replied.

"Make sure they stick," Kensi said.

As they slowly descended, something lit up the sky and loud sound reached their ears.

"Was that what I think it was?" Kensi asked, concerned.

"The plane," Grey answered. Kensi could hear the concern in his voice as well.

"It blew up?"

"Yes," Grey replied.

"Callen and Annabel?" Kensi asked, fear causing her stomach to knot.

"They weren't on it," Grey replied, though there was still concern in his voice.

"How can you know that?"

"Twin thing remember. I'd know if she didn't make it off," Grey replied.

"What about Callen? You wouldn't know if-"

"Kensi. If Callen didn't make it off, neither did Annabel. He had the chute. Which means they both made it off," Grey assured her.

"Now, time to see if I can stick this landing with a monkey on my back."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Callen watched as Annabel stepped out of the cockpit and started to move toward him. She had only taken a few steps when she went down and he saw the hostess stand up. Annabel was quick getting back on her feet, but she had only just turned around when the hostess landed the first blow. Callen, glad Annabel had told him to keep his gun ready, attempted to get a clean shot at the hostess, but couldn't with all the movement of the fight and the close quarters of the plane which was hindering Annabel from putting the necessary distance between them. Callen could see she was trying to do that and he held his aim on the hostess, confident in his abilities not to pull the trigger until he had a clean shot. He waited patiently and focused.

Annabel, thinking that this hostess knew a little too much about hand to hand combat, heard the sixty second countdown on her watch just as she felt herself fly back against the corner of the wall from a kick to the stomach. She had no idea how the hostess had pulled off that move in such a tiny space. She fell to the floor with an unintentional scream as she felt her shoulder dislocate.

Callen took the opportunity as soon as he saw Annabel hit the wall, taking down the hostess with a quick and accurate shot. He started to move toward Annabel who had managed to pull herself up but he stopped as she saw him and shook her head. He stepped back to the door and waited as she ran down the aisle to him. Annabel shed her jacket as she went, ignoring the pain as she did.

When she got to Callen, she knew they had to be quick, very quick, getting off the plane, she said briefly, "Bottom clips then we jump. We have no time."

Callen took care of the left, she took care of the right clip, then she wrapped her good arm around his neck and held on tight. Callen wrapped his arms around her and jumped. He did wonder why she was only using one arm.

"I've got you, can you get the shoulder clips done?" Callen asked in her ear. He couldn't control their descent whilst he was holding on to her. "Can't guarantee I can hold you when the chute opens if we don't," he added.

Annabel tried to move to get the clips, as she did, she couldn't hold back the moan, as the pain went through her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" asked Callen, just as a flash of orange light and the sound of an explosion reached them. He looked up briefly.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Plane, self destruct," she replied.

He'd ask more about that later. "Your arm?"

"The little witch dislocated it," Annabel said as she managed to get one clip done up, before slipping her good arm back around his neck, holding on tight. "Got one. Can you do the other?"

"I've got you." Callen tightened his hold with one arm as she let go of his neck again so he could access the other clip. "I won't let you fall," Callen assured her and he released his hold with the other arm and did up the last clip to hold her securely against him. He heard and felt her let out the breath she had been holding.

Annabel heard her watch beep. "Time to pull the chute. Sorry for the scream that's coming," she said thinking this is going to hurt more than when it was done.

"Do me a favour and turn your head," Callen replied. "On three. One … Two … Three," and he pulled the ripcord.

She was right, this was so much worse. She felt the tears fall, and the pain eventually eased as they finally settled into the slow descent.

"You regretting your choice yet?" Callen asked.

"What choice?" Annabel asked as she moved her head back to look at him with a frown.

"Not going with Grey," Callen asked. He saw the tears on her face, in her eyes.

"Grey and I, tandem parachute?" Annabel shook her head. "Avoid it when possible, doesn't work," she said with a slight chuckle that turned into a moan of pain. She put her head back down against his shoulder.

"Why not?" Callen asked.

"Both of us like being in control," Annabel admitted.

"But you're not now," Callen said.

"Neither is he." Kensi would be in control of the jump, given that Grey was injured. Last thing they needed was him to need to be stitched up in the dark, by torch light. She chuckled slightly as she realised that they both had matching injuries. At least the injuries were on the same side. His bullet graze was on his left side too. She groaned again at the pain and thought she should really stop finding things funny.

"Want me to fix it when we get down?" Callen asked.

"You know what you are doing?" Annabel asked as she looked at him.

"Enough," Callen replied. She was close and very tempting.

Annabel's gaze dropped to his mouth and she thought about the kiss they had shared in the bar, the one that had taken a bit to recover from. She was tempted. She looked back up at his eyes and noticed the look in them. Even in the dark night they were close enough to see each other clearly with the light from the moon. She blushed as she realised he knew what she had been thinking.

"Fine," she agreed, turning her thoughts back to what they had actually been talking about. "When we get down. It'll be easier to move quickly if it is. I'm sure you can't make it any worse," Annabel said and then looked away.

"How did you know something was wrong?" Callen asked.

"We were flying too low, and I didn't ask for special wine," Annabel replied. "I don't think we were far off landing somewhere."

"Feet up, ground is coming," Callen said as he realised how close they were to the ground. Annabel lifted her legs and wrapped them around him, part of her now wishing it was Grey. This would be so much easier.

Annabel kept it to just a small moan of pain as they landed. Callen was good and they didn't fall. As soon as she felt them stop, she dropped her feet to the ground. He unclipped her and she stepped back, relieved for some space between the two of them, but she was unsteady on her feet and sat down carefully on the ground.

"You okay?" Callen asked, concerned as he watch he sit. He knew she'd taken a blow to the head during the fight and wondered if it had been harder than it looked.

"I'm fine, just a little unsteady," Annabel assured him. "Can you pack up the chute? We might need it later." She pulled a small two way radio out of her pocket and turned it on.

"You okay?" she asked when Grey answered. No names were needed. They knew each other's voices extremely well, even over distorted channels.

"We're okay. All accounted for now. You hurt?" Grey asked.

"A little," Annabel answered.

"He has the meeting point. We'll see you there. Check in every half hour, you understand?" Grey continued.

"Understood," Annabel agreed and switched off the radio putting it back in her pocket.

"You know where we have to go?" she asked Callen.

"Yep," Callen replied as he stepped over to her, having already packed up the chute.

"Good," Annabel replied, "Tell me." She put the co-ordinates into the GPS that was also her watch. She loved this little toy Hetty had supplied them with. It told the time, altitude, temperature, direction and had a built in GPS, but looked like a normal everyday watch unless you knew what button to press.

"You ready for me to fix that shoulder?" Callen asked.

"No." Annabel shook her head. She hated this part worse than the actually injury happening. "But go ahead."

Callen reached down, holding his hand out for her. Annabel placed her hand in his and he pulled her to her feet. He stepped around to her side and gently started to feel her arm and shoulder, as he worked out just how bad it was and what he had to do to fix it.

"You had one of these before?" Callen asked.

"A few. Haven't you?" she asked.

"A few," Callen agreed with a smile. He'd had enough that he could pop them back in himself these days, so he was probably looking on the bright side with the response of a few.

"Not giving me any pain relief?" Annabel asked as he started to move her arm around so he could get it back in.

"I didn't bring the bag," Callen replied. He smiled to himself and continued, "though they do say that sex is good for it."

Annabel laughed and, as he felt her muscles relax under his hands with it, he took advantage and popped her shoulder back in.

She stopped laughing almost instantly. "God you're cruel," she said after she got her breath back.

"What? I did what you wanted," Callen responded. He hoped that, having gotten her to relax a little, it would mean that it didn't hurt quite as much.

"Yeah, but tempting a girl, only to follow it up with that." She shook her head. "Not fair," Annabel continued.

So he'd tempted her, had he?

"There is always later," Callen added softly. He was still standing close, still had his hands on her shoulder. He saw her blush and she turned her head away. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a safety pin which she handed it to him.

"Here," she said, ignoring his previous comment. "Pin the bottom of the sleeve to my bra strap. It can act like a sling." She was grateful she had a long sleeve shirt on, given she had left her jacket on the plane. She held her arm across her chest and he felt for the sleeve and the strap, slipping his fingers behind the strap, so that he didn't prick her with the pin. Her skin felt soft and warm on the back of his fingers. He tried not to think about what he had seen in her eyes. After all, he was pretty sure she was someone else's.


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N - All right, finally. This one took a bit to get sorted, hope it works._

_Thanks for the amazing support with reviews, alerts and favouriting of this story. It's great and really encouraging._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

**Chapter 9**

"What happened to you?" asked Grey, concerned as he approached Annabel and Callen when they arrived at the meeting point an hour and a half later.

"The little witch in the plane. She's was tougher than expected. Dislocated. Callen fixed it," Annabel said, with a tentative smile in Callen's direction. He returned it and headed over to check on Kensi, Sam and Hetty.

"Everyone okay?" Callen asked as he sat down next to Hetty.

"Yep, all good," Sam assured him.

Callen watched as Grey steered Annabel over to them, his arm around her waist. Pity about that relationship. He didn't often meet someone he was interested in for more than a night. Annabel intrigued him. The object of his thoughts sat down across from him. When Grey moved to sit next to Sasha, Callen's thoughts changed direction, wondering if maybe he had been wrong. Maybe Grey and Annabel were just close team mates. Her comment about him being her life thought didn't make sense though. He doubted Kensi would say that about him. He wondered if he'd actually get answers out of her if he asked her straight out. Probably not, so far she hadn't answered anything personal.

"Sasha, can I have the computer please?" Annabel asked.

Sasha reached into the bag she had carried off the plane and pulled out the computer, handing it to her. Sasha also pulled out another small torch, holding it so Annabel could see better.

"What are we looking for?" Kensi asked.

"A place to sleep," Annabel replied, typing away one handed.

"Not just gonna sleep here?" Sam asked.

It was late, cold and they were all tired, even though the adrenaline was still kicking, it would wear off soon.

"It's going to get colder. We don't have the right supplies to handle this properly," Annabel answered as she held back a shiver, the cold of the night settling on her now she had stopped moving.

"We don't really have much do we," Callen commented. The clothes on their backs, a small bag of supplies and some parachutes. She looked up at him.

"No," Annabel admitted, "we had to leave most of it on the plane." She went back to the computer but after a few more minutes she closed it and sighed.

"There's nothing, not within about a four hour walk." Annabel ran her good hand through her hair in frustration and stood up. Too quickly as she moved the wrong way and pain went through her. Not from the shoulder though. She was going to have a few bruises after that fight. She sat back down as she felt a slight dizziness in her head. Callen noticed and frowned, wondering just how bad things were for her.

"Looks like we are going to have improvise and head off in the morning when it starts to warm up. At least we have the parachutes," Annabel added, trying to find something good about their current situation.

"There's plenty of wood, we could light a fire," Kensi suggested.

"Another time, yeah that would work. But they'll be checking out any sign of fires after the plane. We can't risk it," Annabel said.

"Why did you blow up the plane?" Kensi asked, disbelief clearly in her voice. Initially Kensi had been too focused on whether Callen had made it off. She had been slightly reassured by Grey's confidence that Annabel had, but not having that kind of connection with Callen, she had been tense and worried until they had checked in and she knew for sure.

"Who took it over? It was the only way," Annabel replied.

"Adrian?" Grey asked.

Annabel shook her head, her tone conveying her grief as she spoke. "Adrian was already dead when I got into the cockpit. Someone else was flying. Debbie wasn't all she seemed," she answered, still feeling the effects of the beating that 'hostess' had given her, knowing that kind of fighting skill came from a lot of training.

"Mandy?" Grey continued.

"I don't know." Annabel shook her head. "We should try and get a message to Graham so he can check on her. Adrian said he dropped her off so I'm hoping she's okay and not involved," Annabel replied, concern washing over her for the young hostess who had been with them for a couple of years now.

"What was on it?" Callen asked. Blowing up a plane seemed a bit of a big deal. Something that wouldn't or shouldn't be taken lightly. Yet Annabel had done it rather quickly without much consideration, or so it seemed. He wondered what was behind her motivation.

"Things that MI6 don't want people to know about, let alone get their hands on," Annabel said. She had the authority to do what needed to be done. Graham had told her that clearly. 'Keep them safe. Do _whatever _is necessary. You will not have to explain your choices,' he'd said. It had been a reluctant decision she'd had to make in haste, but after finding Adrian dead, she knew she'd made the right one. Whoever was after them, wasn't afraid to kill to get them. Neither could she be, to protect them.

"Are you going to bill me for the plane Annabel?" Hetty asked. This mission had just gotten a whole lot more dangerous than Hetty had hoped it would be.

"Haven't decided yet Hetty," Annabel said, smiling slightly. "Probably not. It was my choice."

Annabel had no idea what else she would have to do to keep them safe, but safe she would keep them. Adrian won't have died for nothing. She blinked back the tears for the pilot who had always been there for them, flying them through dangerous landings and take offs, sometimes even illegally. He was an MI6 pilot. He had known what they were doing, unlike the flight attendants, who were employed through 'private' companies. Private MI6 companies. The flight attendants generally thought they were looking after business people. There were only a select few who actually made it onto the real MI6 flights. The companies did actually run real operations for businesses too, providing a secure front. Mandy had been on the verge of being brought into the fold. She wanted to be a pilot so they had been running the checks on her to see if there were any issues.

"Couldn't have just taken it back?" Sam asked bringing Annabel's attention away from Adrian and Mandy. "Can't any of you fly it?"

Callen wondered that too.

"It wasn't a case of just taking it back. We don't know what they did to it or who was tracking it. It could have been that where ever we landed, someone would be waiting," Grey said, backing up Annabel's choice, as he stood up. "Let's try and get some sleep."

They pulled out the chutes, folding them up by the dim light of the torches Sasha had brought off the plane.

"So how's this gonna work?" asked Sam. "We all getting in together or separate?"

"Body heat," Grey replied. "At least need to pair up."

Callen glanced over at Sam who was helping him.

"Not pairing with Sam," Callen grinned. He knew exactly who he was planning on pairing with. His reservations about Annabel's relationship with Grey, getting pushed to the back of his mind. After all, she hadn't actually told him she was married or taken. That, and she certainly seemed interested. He wanted to see what would happen, and he'd back off if she told him to. Plus, she was his bodyguard, so it made perfect sense for them mission.

"Wouldn't want you to," Sam retorted. "Much rather Kensi, or Hetty, or Eric, or-"

"All right Sam, I get the point. I'm really not that bad to sleep with," Callen added.

"That would be something I don't want to find out first hand," Sam responded.

"Look," Annabel interrupted, smiling slightly at the playful banter between the two partners. It was some light relief from everything that had happened so far tonight. "Just get in and get some sleep. I'll take first watch," she continued as she stood watching them, not really being much use with just one arm working.

Grey turned to her. "No you won't," he said firmly. "You get some sleep. You are in no condition to fight anything off at the moment. Get some rest, let the arm settle down. I'll watch."

Annabel shook her head. "Not like I'm gonna be able to sleep, Grey. It hurts and there is nothing I can take for it." Annabel said.

Callen listened carefully to the conversation as he set up the parachute he'd been folding with Sam.

"When was last time you slept?" Grey asked her.

"On the plane."

"Decent sleep Annabel," Grey clarified using her full name. He only did that when he was being very serious. "Not counting the trip from London."

"You've had just as little," Annabel retorted.

Callen stepped back over, interrupting their argument.

"Come on," Callen said, taking Annabel gently by the arm.

"What?" Annabel asked, reluctantly following him. Whatever he had in mind was surely going to be easier to deal with than arguing with Grey about sleep. She rarely won those arguments, and she'd never quite worked out why.

"Got a place for you, you should be comfortable enough to sleep," Callen replied, steering her to a spot near a tree where he had set up one of the parachutes. He sat down with his back against the tree and looked at her. "Come join me," he invited, patting the ground between his legs.

"Why?" Annabel asked not moving. Maybe she was wrong.

"Because you can't lie on the ground with your shoulder. Lean back against me, get some sleep and we'll stay warm," Callen said. She still didn't move. "You know I can make you," he added. Callen was pretty sure if he needed to, he could get Grey on side.

"Sleep Annabel," they both heard Grey say from a little distance away. Looks like he didn't even need to ask. He waited patiently.

After a few moments, Annabel let out a sigh of acceptance? Submission? Resignation? She wasn't quite sure which. "You are as bad as Grey sometimes. Pushy," she said as she moved and sat down in front of him, reaching for the part of the parachute that would be their blanket. Callen took it from her hands as she lent back against him, her head resting on his shoulder, and he tucked it around them.

"You good?" Callen asked.

"Yeah, it's definitely better than the ground," Annabel said, closing her eyes. She was so very tired. It hadn't helped that she had to start this mission without any recovery time from the last one.

"Sleep then," Callen said as he put his head back against the tree. It wasn't the most comfortable pillow but at least they were warm. He felt Annabel relax into sleep fairly quickly, her breathing evening out, her body settling into his. He smiled. He hadn't expected that after her denial about it hurting. Callen closed his eyes too.

~~~~~~o

Sam, Kensi and Sasha ended up together in another parachute as Hetty decided to keep watch with Grey.

"You should get some rest Hetty. I'm good to watch on my own," Grey added as she sat down on the fallen tree trunk next to him.

"I am certain your wife would agree that you are good to watch," Hetty replied with a smile.

Grey laughed quietly. "So why are you sitting up with me? Today can't have been easy for you," he asked her.

Hetty sighed. It gave away the stress she had been feeling, but Grey was one of those few that she had been to hell and back with and she wouldn't hide how difficult this day had been from him.

"Today is the day I have been dreading for years. I do not know what I would have done if Graham hadn't been able to assist," Hetty replied softly, ensuring the conversation didn't drift to the rest of their party.

"What did Graham tell you both?" she asked.

"Annabel knows what needs to be done. I know a little bit extra that may or may not come into play," Grey replied. It was the way they worked best. They trusted each other completely so even not knowing everything, they knew the other would tell them if it became an issue. It allowed the one in charge of the mission, whoever's turn that was, the opportunity to focus on the mission at hand. The other, with that extra information, was able to focus on that, watching for even the tiniest sign and bring that information into play if the need arose. It was extremely effective for them. Grey knew that other teams didn't work that way. It was unique to them, but then they were a unique team, only allowed to work together because of their connection and their track record. It had taken two years of missions together before they had been taken off probation. They had to prove that they could work together without issues, at least without issues that related to their relationship.

"You do understand how important this is?" Hetty asked, concern in her voice. She hoped Graham had made it clear just what was at stake.

"Yes Hetty. If it wasn't, you wouldn't be here. You would have trusted Annabel and I to take care of Kensi and Callen without the additional support," Grey assured her.

Hetty relaxed slightly. "Callen ... struggles to stay out of things, especially when his team are in danger. A little like you, when Annabel is in trouble."

Grey chuckled slightly. He did have trouble, but then he also knew when she was hurting so it just made his motivation to get her back even stronger.

"And you are the one he listens to?" Grey asked with a glance across at Callen and Annabel, a frown flickering across his face as he wondered just how badly she would hurt in the morning. He knew the shoulder would hurt, and he assumed that she had taken a few hits with whatever had happened on the plane.

"One of them," Hetty replied, "though I must add at times it is reluctantly. Sam is also helpful in that department."

Grey turned to Hetty. "Do you think Eric will be able to find out exactly who's behind this?"

This was something Hetty wasn't sure of. "Eric is one of the best, he is also working with Abby, so that will help." She hoped together they would be enough.

"Better than she was?" Grey asked.

Hetty stiffened slightly, hiding it with a shiver, as she wondered exactly what it was Grey was asking.

"She?" Hetty repeated, her tone suggesting confusion.

"Rebecca."

_He knows her name. What extra did Graham give him? _"How much do you know?" Hetty asked, her tone remaining neutral.

"I know about a paragraph on the twelve. A couple of pages on Rebecca," Grey replied as he pulled the folded parachute up from behind them and put it around Hetty, having mistaken her slight shiver for being cold. She pulled it around her as did Grey, who also moved slightly closer to the little woman beside him.

Hetty eyed her companion as she smiled slightly. "So, it appears that Graham has already chosen his successor."

Grey frowned. "Meaning?"

"Graham has plans for you," Hetty replied. Her smile growing as she continued. "It's nice to know that when he retires, I will still have some influence at MI6."

"What?" Grey sounded confused and Hetty felt some sympathy for him. She remembered that feeling.

"Grey, you wouldn't even know Rebecca's name, let alone anything about her or the twelve, unless Graham had decided you were going to replace him one day." Perhaps when this is over, she should do the same and chose her replacement out of the shortlist she had already prepared.

"I don't understand Hetty," Grey shook his head. "If you are referring to me taking over from Graham at MI6 then you're wrong. I am nowhere near next in line for that job." He hadn't even thought about a move out of the field, at least not seriously.

"Neither was Graham until a year before he took over," Hetty added, hearing more confusion in Grey's voice.

Grey looked at the woman beside him trying to decide whether to keep probing. He decided against it and went back to the original conversation.

"So, was she better than Eric or Abby?" he asked.

Hetty thought for a moment, "In her time, I believe she was probably even better than Eric and Abby combined. Though today, with the amount of technology and information, I doubt that one person could be that good."

"And you really think they're after her as well?"

"Nothing points to it yet. But after everything we've been through lately, it wouldn't surprise me. With only two of the twelve left, and after what happened eight months ago with the other two, I had no choice but to go to Graham. I couldn't risk them and there was no one else I could trust." Others had missed the warning signs and two had lost their lives because of it. She wouldn't let that happen on her watch. Especially since it was more than just lives that were at stake if anything happened to Callen.

"Graham is looking into what he can, to see if it is really connected to her," Grey informed Hetty. She nodded, that was good. Graham knew where to look for signs, hopefully he would find what he needed soon.

"Thank you Grey, for agreeing to help. The danger involved in this ... I know you don't owe me anything and I owe you all my life."

Grey slipped an arm around Hetty's shoulders, underneath the chute and gave her a gentle squeeze as he reassured her. "No you don't Hetty. We did what we did, because it was right and because we could. Besides, without you, we wouldn't have gotten Annabel back."

Hetty heard the slight pain that was in Grey's voice, even after all this time. She knew it had been an extremely difficult time for him, almost losing her. She lent into his embrace and slipped her arm around him, well as far as it would go anyway, offering the small amount of comfort she could.

"Still-."

Grey cut off her protest.

"Please Hetty, we care about you. It's not about who owes who. It is simply that we will be there for you, however many times you need us."

"As I will for you. I must admit to being slightly disappointed that Shawn couldn't have stayed, though I do understand," Hetty replied.

Grey smiled, "Yes, we did promise he would be back in London with his wife within the day, so he was there for when the baby was born." He still had a hard time picturing Shawn with a baby. He was looking forward to seeing that side of the man when they returned to London when all of this was over. Hetty was having similar thoughts as well. Shawn was even larger than Sam. However, she had witnessed the softer side of Shawn, and as she was known to store away ever piece of potential information, it wasn't quite so hard for her to imagine Shawn holding a newborn.

"Did he need to come in the first place?" Hetty asked. "It was cutting it close."

"He wanted to. There is still another week to go. It's been a long time since he saw you," Grey replied. Hetty smiled at the response. Grey continued, his tone slightly more serious as he did. "Plus, given the circumstances, we didn't want to bring in anyone new to the team." They had needed Shawn for the initial part of the mission.

Hetty smiled. "It was good to see him again," she added softly.

Grey glanced over at Callen and Annabel, noting they both looked asleep.

Hetty noticed the concern on Grey's face when he turned back to her. She smiled reassuringly at him.

"Callen is a good man Grey," Hetty said. "If anything happens between those two," Grey's focus returned to them as Hetty continued. "I can assure you it won't be taken lightly on his part. He doesn't often get involved with women, let alone one in law enforcement."

"Hard not to worry about her," Grey added, still looking at the two of them.

"I understand," Hetty said, her voice soft with care and concern. "It's hard not to worry about him too."

Grey turned his attention back to her. "You know if he hurts her he'll have not only me but Shawn to answer to."

Hetty nodded with a smile. Those two men would do anything for Annabel, and had in the past.

"I know. Should I warn him off her for you?" she offered, her glance straying to the couple in question.

"Do you think he'd listen if he is serious about her?" Grey asked, not mentioning that he already had given Callen a warning to be careful.

Hetty thought for a moment before answering. "I'm not sure if I would want him to if he is serious about her."

Grey looked at her, wanting more of an explanation for her words. Hetty obliged. "He's been alone a long time Grey. Perhaps having someone to share things with, would be beneficial for him."

Grey looked over at Annabel, his heart hurting for what his sister had been through over the last couple of years. "Her too," he replied softly. She deserved something good after everything.


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N - Thanks for the support for this story. It's been great._

_Disclaimer in chapter 1_

**Chapter 10**

As Annabel drifted slowly awake, she knew she was warm, except for her nose. Instinctively, she turned her head to the source of the warmth, burying her face in his neck and taking a deep breath as she woke up. When she realised what she had just done, she tried to sit up, but his arms were locked around her, holding her still.

"Stop moving, you'll let the cold in," Callen said, his voice slightly sleepy. He'd slept for a while, drifted the rest of the time and enjoyed having her close and warm.

"Sorry," Annabel replied and stopped moving. She narrowly avoided moaning as the pain went through her shoulder when she'd tried to move.

"You okay?" Callen asked, noticing she wasn't as relaxed anymore.

"Okay, just a cold nose," Annabel said.

"I noticed," Callen said, a smile to his voice. It had been hard to miss when she had turned into him.

"I should switch with Grey and keep watch," Annabel suggested, though she didn't move. Getting up just wasn't appealing right now. She was warm and as long as she didn't move, she wasn't hurting.

"Sam's just switched, but you can watch if you want, just don't move," Callen told her, shifting slightly to get a bit more comfortable. Annabel settled back into him once he had, even though she continued feeling like she should be getting up.

"How can I keep watch from here?" Annabel asked, fighting the urge to let her head rest against the side of his and close her eyes again.

"You can listen, then you are right here to protect me," Callen said.

"Yeah, if I can get untangled," Annabel replied sarcastically. Between the parachute, him and her injuries, she doubted she could move quickly.

"Then I'll just have to hope no one comes won't I?"

Annabel felt a slight shaking of his chest and frowned. Was her laughing at her?

"Meaning?" Annabel asked as she turned her head to look at him.

"Meaning I don't want you to move," Callen said softly as he looked down into her eyes. He didn't really know what he was feeling for this woman in his arms, but he felt something, and he'd barely known her twelve hours. Annabel didn't reply, even if she had wanted to, the look in his eyes had made her mouth go dry. She didn't really want to move either and was in no way willing to admit that. She turned her head and gave in to the temptation of closing her eyes and just enjoying feeling safe in his arms. Strange, since she was his bodyguard, not the other way around.

She had fallen asleep again. Callen didn't so he listened, but there were no sounds that needed checking and by the time she woke up again, it was starting to get light.

"Sorry," she said quietly. "Didn't mean to go back to sleep."

"You needed it. How's the arm?" Callen asked.

She moved it slightly, a slight grimace appearing on her face. "Sore, but nothing I can't handle. Had worse … I think," she added.

Callen remembered the rest of the fight. "What about the rest of you?" he asked.

"Will let you know when I move."

When she didn't, Callen smiled.

"Is that going to happen anytime soon?" he asked.

Annabel chuckled softly. "You in a hurry to leave these five star comforts?"

"Whilst the company is five star," Callen answered, "the bed really doesn't come close to being luxury."

Annabel smiled. "Not so bad for me, but I don't have a tree in my back," she added as she started to sit up away from him. His arms slipped from their position around her, allowing her to move easily. Annabel groaned and fell back against him.

"What's wrong?" Callen asked concern in his voice.

Annabel took a couple of slow easy breaths against the pain, before she answered.

"Ribs and stomach. Hurt when I sat up."

Callen glanced over and saw Sam watching them. He tilted his head at Sam indicating he wanted his help and Sam stood up and came over.

"What's up G?" Sam noticed the concern on his partners eyes and restrained himself from any teasing comments.

"Can you help Annabel? Ribs and stomach took a beating."

Sam frowned a little and looked Annabel over to determine how he was going to do this. Ribs, stomach and shoulder. That didn't leave a whole lot left to get her up off the ground without hurting her.

"I can get up, it just-"

"Let Sam help," Callen interrupted her protest.

Sam stepped around so he was on her right side, away from the shoulder injury. Bending down carefully, he slipped on arm behind her, her arm went around his neck as she followed his lead. Sam slipped the other carefully under her legs, behind her knees, then he looked at her. "You ready?"

Annabel nodded. "Don't try and help," Sam added.

Carefully he lifted her and Callen got up quickly to help, adding his support to her whilst Sam let her legs down to the ground.

"Thanks," she said softly.

"Let me see," Callen said as Sam stepped away.

Annabel frowned.

"Stomach and ribs, let me see," Callen repeated.

"I didn't know you were a doctor," Annabel said, raising her eyebrows at his demand.

"I'm not." Callen continued to look at her expectantly.

"Look Callen, I'm fine," Annabel said, "It hurts, but it's just a combination of bruising and not moving much last night."

There was something intimate about the thought of him checking out her injuries and she wasn't sure she was ready to deal with those feelings.

"Bel," Grey came up beside them, "You all right?"

"I'm fine."

"No you're not," Callen disagreed. He looked to Grey as he continued. "She couldn't stand. Sam needed to help her up."

Annabel glared at Callen. "I can stand. I just couldn't get up without it hurting."

"Show me," Grey demanded.

Annabel rolled her eyes. "Good grief. Pushy, both of you."

"Annabel," came Hetty's firm voice, "I am sure they just want to help."

"Not you too Hetty," Annabel said. So much for her being the leader of this mission. Seemed like she was right at the bottom of the list at the moment. Guilt went over her as she knew they just wanted to help. She was just feeling a little out of sorts at the moment. She really needed to get a grip on that.

"Bel, come on," Grey asked, this time in a less demanding tone.

Annabel carefully lifted one side of her shirt, unable to do both, though Callen obliged and helped with the other side. She flinched slightly as his fingers grazed over her skin. She wasn't entirely sure whether it was because it hurt or just because it was him. Grey gently ran his hands over her ribs, checking for breaks. She sucked in a breath at one point from the pain.

"Just bruising, but you won't be carrying anything today," Grey assured her, as he stepped back. Annabel pulled her shirt back down and looked at Callen.

"Told you," she said.

"Needed to be checked," Callen added.

Callen glanced over and saw Kensi and Sasha getting up. Annabel noticed too, and started to move away. She went to the bag Sasha had carried off the plane and opened it. She pulled out a bottle of water each and some energy bars. They all moved over toward her.

"A bottle and bar each. Not much for breakfast but better than nothing," she added as she opened up hers. "We leave as soon as we are packed and have eaten."

"You know where we're going?" Kensi asked as she opened her water bottle.

"There's a town about four hours walk away. There are a few properties for rent that are furnished and empty. We should be able to get into one of them and get some bearings on what we are going to do and get some decent rest."

"Breaking and entering being added to speeding and major property damage?" Callen teased her. She glanced over at him.

"Not breaking, just unlawful entry," Annabel smiled.

"All right, lets get moving," Grey said and moved to start packing up the chutes. The rest followed as Annabel slowly finished eating. She felt Callen's eyes on her as he helped Sam with another of the chutes.

Callen was worried about Annabel. She seemed tough, but the way she had fallen back against him this morning was anything but, so he knew she was in pain and not just a little. He was relieved when Grey said she hadn't broken anything, but he was still concerned. There was a bruise he could see, that just came out from her hairline and he wondered how bad her head was. At least he knew it wouldn't be hard to keep close to her today.

"Bel, you know where we are going," Grey said as they finished packing and moved to where Annabel was sitting, waiting for them. "You lead. Your pace okay. The rest of us shouldn't have a problem keeping up with you," Grey advised.

Annabel nodded. "Let's move and leave this luxury hotel shall we?" She smiled briefly at Callen as she turned and started walking, after checking the watch for which way to go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Gibbs had just left to head into the office, keeping up appearances, so to speak. It was going to be odd enough that Abby wasn't in today, let alone Gibbs as well. After Abby closed the door of her apartment behind him, she turned to Eric and started pacing.

"This doesn't make sense. I mean I know McGee he wouldn't do this. Leon wouldn't either," Abby frowned. "I think anyway."

Eric stood up and stretched. They'd been slaving over the computer for hours, not getting much for their efforts.

"The emails seem real Abby. They've been going on for a few weeks," Eric added, not really wanting to believe what they had found. Or more importantly, hadn't found. It looked legitimate. He had hoped with a little more digging they would find that it wasn't for real.

"But why would they use their work emails?" Abby asked. "McGee's smarter than that."

Eric had to agree. He didn't know McGee well, but surely this was just asking to be caught.

"Do you think they would have used other emails as well? We could hack into their personal accounts," Eric mused.

Abby started to pace again. Something just wasn't right with all of this. "No, I'm having one of those Gibbs moments."

"What's a Gibbs moment?" Eric asked, confused.

"Gut, instinct... when something tells you things aren't as they seem. You know, a feeling."

Eric nodded. "Yeah, Callen gets them sometimes. So what's yours telling you?" He sat back down

"That McGee didn't do this. Vance, hmm, he sometimes seems a little shifty, but McGee," Abby shook her head. "He might do dodgy things to find stuff out for work, but that's not 'bad' stuff like this," Abby finished her pacing and just looked at Eric for a moment. Then it was like a light bulb went on in her head. Her eyes brightened, she straightened up, seeming to grow a good couple of inches in a matter of seconds.

"I knew it," Abby exclaimed, as she moved quickly over to the computer and, with speed that left even Eric impressed, she pulled up some information.

"There it is," she pointed to the screen.

"Server maintenance?" Eric was confused.

"Look at the times. It was a random routine maintenance of the email server. They take it offline for an hour, run diagnostics, virus checks and and serious sweep of all emails for any 'iffy' words that suggest a problem. No one knows when they are going to happen."

"Sorry Abby, I haven't slept in over a day," Eric apologised. He couldn't follow.

Abby pulled a few more emails around. "These three emails, couldn't have been sent then, because the server was down."

Eric pulled his very sleep deprived wits together to follow. "So if three of them were sent during that time, then someone had to have planted them after the server maintenance was done."

Which could mean that all of them may have been planted, Eric mused in his mind.

"Right. So these were sent three days ago, supposedly. That means that someone had to hack in after that."

Abby was all excited, this could mean that her team weren't involved. She felt like she'd just down a couple of massive cups of Caf-Pow in one fell swoop. She was awake and raring to go, where just minutes before, she was about ready to close her eyes and go to sleep where she stood.

"So we only have three days of data to track," Eric added with a tired sigh.

"Eric get some sleep, I'll keep going."

Eric shook his head, but Abby continued. "Eric, you don't want to pass out on the keyboard, trust me. I've done it. Ribbed by Tony for days because of the squares on my face."

Eric was tired. "Okay, just an hour though. Where can I sleep?"

"Couch. Don't know that you would be comfortable in the coffin." Eric's eyes went wide slightly and Abby grinned. He wasn't exactly game enough to ask if she was for real.

"Couch will be fine," Eric agreed as he stood up and left Abby to it.

He wondered how the team were doing. He didn't know how long this would take before he could send Hetty a message through the message board he'd set her up on for emergency contact a while ago, just in case. He honestly hadn't thought they would ever need to use it, but he had humoured her when she'd asked for it.

He settled back on the couch, pulled a blanket, red with a big black Gothic cross on it, over him and closed his eyes. He was asleep within seconds.


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N - Okay, so I've been struggling with this chapter for the last few days and have decided to post it as is. Constructive reviews (and all others) appreciated._

_Thanks again for the support for this story._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

**Chapter 11**

"No!" The screeched words from Abby pulled Eric abruptly from his sleep. Not quite knowing where he was, he ended up crashing to the floor, tangled in the blanket and mere inches away from busting his head open on the corner of the table.

Abby came running out at the sound.

"Eric?" she asked, looking strangely at him as he laid on the floor trying to get his breathing under control. His glasses were crooked, which he eventually worked out was the cause of Abby's strange look.

"You okay?" she asked as she reached a hand down to help him up. He took it gratefully and stood, only to fall back on the couch when his feet couldn't get out of the blanket. He decided to stay put for the moment and looked at Abby.

"What did you find?"

Abby frowned. "Nothing good. I still don't think McGee did this," she said.

Eric looked at her in confusion. "I thought that we thought they didn't already. The hack."

Abby turned to him, a look which could be despair on her face, but he wasn't sure.

"I traced the hack and the IP address it came from. Turns out it was McGee's home computer."

"Oh," Eric muttered. This wasn't good. They thought they had something to clear NCIS involvement. If they had've, it would have meant so many more resources.

He looked up at Abby, about to ask her more, when her phone rang.

"Hey honey," Abby said cheerfully.

"Hey," Gibbs said. "Anything?"

"Nothing good," Abby replied.

"Still looks like what it did before?" Gibbs asked cryptically.

"Something like that."

"Call me if you find anything,"

"Bye honey," Abby finished with a grin.

She turned to Eric, "He hates it when I call him honey. It's fun."

Abby turned serious. "What next?"

Eric untangled his feet and stood up, "What if, for arguments sake, we assume that they are involved. Why don't we work again on finding where they sent the files, rather than trying to prove they didn't."

"They're not involved," Abby reiterated firmly, "But I can work with that." She put her hands on Eric's shoulders and steered him to the computer. "You work, I'll get breakfast."

Abby turned and walked away.

"Umm, Abby," Eric said, tentatively.

Abby turned around.

"It's real food right?" he asked. The girl slept in a coffin, apparently anyway. Who knew what she considered breakfast.

"Yep. Bloody Mary, heavy on the blood and -" Abby stopped at the horrified look on Eric's face and laughed.

"Toast, juice and fruit, Eric. I was joking."

"Sorry," Eric grinned slightly in apology.

"To work," Abby reminded him as she turned with a flourish of hands and stepped out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Gibbs walked into the bullpen and sat down. He picked up his phone and dialed Abby. It had barely been an hour, but he really needed to know if she'd found anything out yet that would clear up this mess.

"Hey honey," Abby answered cheerfully. He narrowly avoided telling her off for that greeting.

"Hey," he replied, remaining neutral. "Anything?" he asked.

Gibbs saw DiNozzo look over at him, obviously curious.

"Nothing good," Abby replied.

"Still looks like what it did before?" Gibbs asked cryptically.

"Something like that."

"Call me if you find anything," he advised her.

"Bye honey." He wished he'd been quicker hanging up.

"Anything wrong Boss?" Tony asked.

Gibbs turned to him. "Why would anything be wrong DiNozzo?"

"Umm, well. No reason Boss," Tony replied and turned back to his computer.

"You weren't listening in on my call were you?" Gibbs asked.

"Never Boss, you know that," Tony answered quickly. Gibbs controlled himself from commenting further. He turned back to his desk, trying to figure out a legitimate way to get out of the office.

His phone rang, "Gibbs," he answered.

"Jethro, can I have a word?" came Ducky's voice. Perfect.

"On my way," Gibbs replied as he grabbed his things and stood up.

Tony stood up quickly, looking like he was ready to go with him.

"Sit DiNozzo. Paper work," he ordered as he walked out alone.

Tony looked over at McGee, "You think there is something up with Gibbs?"

"Something is always up with Gibbs, Tony."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Nate walked through the doors of OSP headquarters, whistling. He was in a good mood. He'd had a good night last night, gone on a date even. He smiled as he recalled the date that turned into a non-date. A friend had set him up with this girl, Kerry. She was pretty, but there had been absolutely no chemistry, at least in romantic terms. Turned out though, that they had a lot in common and had spent the entire night talking new psychology theories amongst other things. They'd agreed to keep in touch; be friends. He was looking forward to lunch in a couple of days when they were going to meet up again. She was going to bring him a couple of books he hadn't read yet, about some of the topics they'd talked about.

He frowned, an uneasiness settling on him as he looked around at the office. It was too quiet. Callen and Sam weren't bickering good naturedly, or teasing Kensi about her most recent date. Because they weren't here. He glanced at his watch. 10am. That meant they were late, meant he was late. So where was Hetty? Anytime he was late she was always there within seconds giving him a gentle reprimand. Nate knew he got off lightly compared to the rest of the team. He looked at some of the other staff. There was something odd. They were looking at him, not the usual hustle of the morning shift. They actually looked like they didn't know what they were doing.

Nate decided to find Hetty. He headed to her desk. It was empty. He frowned and looked at the hook she always hung her bag on. Empty. The uneasiness he had been feeling increased.

Nate glanced over at some of the other employees, his gaze settling on one whose name came easily to him.

"Aaron, have you see Hetty?" he asked.

"No." Aaron shook his head.

"Anyone seen Hetty?" Nate asked in a slightly louder voice, looking around at the half a dozen employees who were within ear shot. They all shook their heads.

Nate frowned and went to his office. Maybe there was a message on his voice mail. He sat down at his desk and went to pick up the phone, when he noticed a note on his desk. Hetty's hand writing.

He let out small sigh of relief as he picked it up. His relief didn't last long.

.

_Nate,_

_In light of the previous weeks and months events, I have taken the team on a moral boosting outing. Since Dom's unfortunate departure, and the recent revelations regarding Agent Callen, we both know they have been slowly pulling apart. Until they are working together effectively, as we have come to expect with them, the outing will continue. Could you please inform the Director of our absence. Hopefully, it will take no more than a few days. _

_We will be out of contact, an exercise for them in depending solely on one another._

_Thank you. I am confident you will be able to keep the office from falling apart completely until we return or the Director sends someone to assist you._

_Regards,_

_Hetty_

_.  
_

A few days? Inform the director? Keep the office from falling apart?

Nate pinched himself. Maybe this was just a dream. After all he had been talking with Kerry last night about how realistic dreams could be.

He stood up and went to find Eric, ignoring all the questioning stares he was getting from the other staff members as he moved quickly through to the ops centre.

No Eric. Guess Hetty took him too. Nate almost chuckled at the image of Eric being 'out of contact' or without his computer. Almost. He was too concerned right now. He had to call the Director. If anyone came close to scaring Nate more than Hetty, it was Vance. He went back to his office, closed the door and sat down. He took a deep breath.

You can do this Nate. Hetty believes in you.

He picked up the phone, a sense of dread settling down on him. He wasn't quite sure why. Hetty had given him a reason for the absenses. Problem was, he didn't really believe it. Because surely, as the team psychologist, a moral boosting outing was right up his alley.

Nate shook his head as the sound of dial tone from the phone sunk in. He just had to tell the Director what was in Hetty's note and let him take over.

He dialed and waited.

"Vance," came the terse answer, setting Nate on edge even more. Sounded like this wasn't a good time.

"Director, Nate Getz. OSP."

"What can I do for you Nate?" the Director asked, somewhat impatiently.

"Umm, I have a message from Hetty for you."

"Hetty?" That had gotten the Director's attention.

"Yes, she's taken the team for a moral boosting outing."

"Who?"

"Callen, Sam, Kensi and Eric," Nate replied, that uneasiness coming back and almost taking away the nerves caused by having to make this call.

"Where?"

"I don't know," Nate admitted reluctantly, wishing Hetty had at least given him a general location, even if it was just a state.

"She didn't tell you?"

"No she just left me a note. I don't even know when they left."

"When are they due back?" Vance demanded.

"A few days maybe. She said she's not bringing them back until they are working together properly."

"Thought they worked together quite well."

"Things have been a bit difficult since Dom." Nate didn't want to add that things had gotten even more tense since the Keelson episode. Callen had been preoccupied, he was still his effective self, but Nate had witnessed him going through the box on Amy whenever he had a spare moment. Sam had been worried about his partner's obsession and Kensi had still be feeling slightly guilty that the data warehouse had blown up. They'd talked about it a few times and even though Callen had assured her they were still good, she still felt that things weren't quite right between them.

"Have you tried calling her?"

The Director's question brought Nate out of his musings about the team's current dynamics.

"She said they would be out of contact, I haven't actually tried." Nate felt a bit silly about that. It should have been the first thing he tried.

"So Hetty and the finest team have disappeared? That didn't sound suspicious to you?"

"Well, yes," Nate answered, of course it had. "But Hetty is always full of surprises."

"That she is," Vance agreed. Nate almost heard a chuckle. "Now find them," Vance ordered firmly.

"How?" This wasn't what he did. This was what the team did.

"You have IT experts there."

"I guess."

"Then find them Mr Getz. I expect you to call me back within the hour with results."

Nate heard the call get disconnected before he could say anything more.

Reluctantly, Nate stood up and went in search of one of the other IT experts. They tried everything they could think of.

Calling all the cell phones, the back up phones, home phones. sending text's (nothing detailed of course, just 'Call me'), tracking the GPS signals from their cars.

He sent a team out to check their apartments, just in case they were there. No such luck.

They checked the mission logs, but according to those, the last one was a couple of days ago.

As much as it made him feel guilty, he had one of the IT guys, log into Hetty's email for him. Nothing there either.

Next was the phone logs of all of them. Still nothing.

As a last ditch effort, Nate even went through the wardrobe department records. Hetty was meticulous about keeping records of who had taken what item out, when they had returned it, in what condition and if she was to ever let them have that particular item again. Nothing had been taken out by the team that hadn't been returned.

The hour was up and he had to call Vance. Nate returned to his office and picked up the phone. Trepidation filling him as he dialed the number for the second time today.

"What do you have for me, Nate?" Vance answered, the phone only ringing once before it was picked it up.

"Nothing. We can't find any trace of them or any clue on where she has taken them."

Nate had an odd desire to hold the phone very far away from his ear but refrained.

"So what you are saying is that they are completely off the grid?"

Vance did not sound impressed at all.

"It appears that way," Nate agreed.

Vance was silent.

"Keep me informed," Vance said abruptly then hung up.

Nate stared at the phone and frowned. Informed about what?

He shook his head and sat back in his chair. What was he supposed to do now?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Vance picked up his phone quickly after disconnecting from the good Doctor.

"McGee."

"My office. Now," Vance demanded then hung up and waited, giving McGee no time to question the order.

A couple of minutes later, McGee walked into his office.

"Close the door."

McGee did and stepped over to his desk.

Vance let out an agitated breath and then spoke.

"Agents Callen, Hanna, and Blye, Hetty and Eric have gone off grid. The idiots in L.A. can't find them. You will."

McGee frowned. "Have they given a reason?"

Vance rolled his eyes. "Apparently, Hetty took them on a team morale boosting exercise. But no one in L.A. can find a trace of them."

McGee seemed confused. "And you want me to find them?"

"Yes. Use whatever resources you can and find them. I don't like it when one of our best teams in their entirety disappears."

"Yes Sir."

McGee turned and started to the door. Just as his hand was on the handle, Vance added, "And McGee."

McGee turned. "Yes?

"No one else knows about this, understand?" The Director's tone firm and serious.

McGee nodded. "Understood."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Gibbs came back into the office after his prolonged discussion with Ducky, followed by a trip out to deliver lunch to Abby and Eric, who didn't have anything more for him yet.

"Where's McGee?" Gibbs asked as he saw that McGee wasn't at his desk.

"Director called for him about half an hour ago boss," replied Tony, helpfully.

"For what?" Gibbs asked as he spun around to look at DiNozzo.

"Don't know." Tony frowned. "Is there a problem Boss?"

"Not for you Dinozzo as long as you are working." Gibbs turned and started toward the stairs to the Director's office.

"Absolutely Boss. Doing stuff as we speak." Tony started typing away randomly on his keyboard in the appearance of looking busy.

Gibbs went to Vance's office and walked straight in, without knocking.

"What are you doing with McGee?" he demanded.

"I need him on something. You have a problem with that?" Vance answered calmly.

Gibbs' eyes narrowed. "Yeah, he's part of my team. I need him in the lab today. Abby's off sick."

Vance wasn't moved. "He is in MTAC, working on something,"

"I want him back," Gibbs demanded.

"When he's done." Vance's tone was a serious one that most other Agents wouldn't argue with. But not Gibbs

"Now," Gibbs added firmly.

"When he's done," Vance repeated.

Gibbs shook his head. "We'll see." Then Gibbs turned and walked out, heading straight to MTAC.

Vance followed, walking in behind him.

"Gibbs, I need him on this. You'll have him back when he's finished. That's an order."

Gibbs glared at Vance and then turned to McGee, who was staring up at the two of them, a slightly apprehensive look on his face.

"McGee," said Gibbs, "In the lab, half an hour. Or considered yourself reassigned to the Director's personal team."

Gibbs turned and walked out.

Vance looked down at McGee.

"You know what to do McGee. You have your orders."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

_A/N - so, Good? Bad? Other? Thanks for reading._


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N - thanks for the reviews and tips from the last chapter, all appreciated._

_Back to the team, lets see what they are up to._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_._

**Chapter 12**

It took them longer than the four hours. They kept to the woods as close to the road as they could, but that had caused the distance they needed to travel to increase. Annabel's injuries, whilst not major, had also meant that the speed they could travel was slightly less than it normally would have been. She had stumbled a few times, Callen catching her before she could fall and do more harm. She hadn't realised that she had bruised her ankle at some point until they had taken a break and Callen had caught her rubbing it absently. When he'd taken off her shoe gently, she only just managed to hold back a moan of pain. There was quite a nasty bruise across one side of her foot. He'd put the shoe back on quickly, hoping the pressure would help her get through the rest of the walk. Callen had quietly asked her, as they walked ahead of the rest, whether they should just try and hitchhike to the town instead of walking. He was concerned about her. She'd shaken her head slightly, keeping the conversation between themselves. It was too much of a risk. What if someone had been watching for the plane and they managed to get their attention instead of some innocent traveler. She'd assured him she would be all right, that she'd been through worse before. She could still do her job. He'd assured her he wasn't worried about whether she could do her job, just that she didn't do any more damage to herself. He'd joked that she was taking the whole bodyguard thing too far by taking on all the injuries. She'd smiled at that.

It was early afternoon by the time they arrived at the house Annabel had found. Once they were securely inside, they had all been relieved to get some water, the bottle from breakfast having been used up long ago. As they all sat around comfortably, on chairs not fallen trees or cold hard ground, Kensi's stomach rumbled and an echo seemed to come from at least three other directions.

"We need to figure out something for food," Kensi said stating the obvious. "We haven't eaten anything decent since lunch yesterday."

The walk had left them all hungry and tired, with the L.A team mentally wishing they had thought to actually have something to eat before they had headed to the bar the previous night. So much had happened in the last twenty four hours it was hard to believe it hadn't been a week rather than a day.

"There's a shop nearby. Someone can go and get something," Annabel said, remembering the map from the computer.

"Who?" Callen asked.

"Not you," Annabel said quickly as she looked over all of them. Sam, Hetty and Kensi were fairly unique in their appearance, "Sasha or Grey are the best options," Annabel finished. Grey shook his head with a glance at Kensi.

"I'll go," Sasha offered, "I'll be quick. I'll grab some ice," she added with a glance at Annabel who nodded her thanks. Sasha took some money out of the bag and left through the back door, after a quick check for directions on the computer.

Sam turned to Annabel, "So what's next?" he asked.

"We need rest and a plan," Hetty said before Annabel could reply. She could see the tiredness in Annabel's eyes and temporarily took over. "Mr Callen, you and Annabel will take one of the bedrooms. Miss Blye and Grey will take the other. The four of you need to get some decent sleep. Mr Hanna, Sasha and I will do the first watch, after we have eaten," Hetty added.

No-one complained about that idea, especially Callen. He had some things to discuss with Annabel.

Kensi wandered around the house, looking to see if the previous occupants had left anything interesting to read. Sam sat quietly, eyeing off Annabel and Grey mostly, with the occasional frown at Hetty. Callen sat watching Annabel talk quietly to Grey, only catching a brief word here and there that made him think they were trying to understand what had happened and what they were going to do. Callen felt a slight stab of jealousy when Grey slipped an arm around her and her head dropped to his shoulder, eyes closing briefly as Grey placed a soft kiss on her head. He wanted to ask them what they were planning but he held back as it looked like Annabel might have fallen asleep. Hetty, on the other hand, watched no one and seemed lost in thought. Kensi walked back in, a triumphant look on her face, book in hand and sat down next to him to pass the time reading. Callen turned his attention back to Annabel, who was now looking at him. He guessed he'd been wrong, she wasn't asleep after all. She smiled at him and started to get up, just as Sasha came back in with a bag of sandwiches and snacks.

They all gratefully ate, not even caring what was on them. When they were done, Hetty reiterated her orders about rest and sent the four of them on their way.

When Callen had closed the door to the bedroom he would be sharing with Annabel, he reached for her and turned her around, still holding on.

"What don't I know?" Callen asked seriously. She raised her eyebrows.

"Probably a lot," Annabel replied, her lips twitching slightly as she attempted to hold back a smile. She didn't try and pull away. He wasn't hurting her and if she did, she'd most likely hurt herself.

"There is something about this that isn't right. What's Hetty hiding from me?" Callen asked.

Normally Hetty having a secret wasn't a big deal, she had a lot of them. But this felt different. She didn't usually hold back when it came to a mission.

"You'll have to ask Hetty that," Annabel replied.

"I'm asking you."

"Perhaps you should ask more specific questions and maybe I'll be able to answer them" Annabel replied. He frowned slightly at her response. "You know Hetty better than I do, so you know that Hetty won't tell all if she has a reason not to," she continued.

Annabel did have a point. Direct questions to Hetty sometimes worked. You at least got an answer or a no. It also sounded like Hetty hadn't necessarily told Annabel everything.

"Fine." Callen thought about what he wanted to know and settled on his first question.

"Why do Kensi and I get a personal body guard each, but Sam and Hetty share someone who doesn't look like she could hurt a fly?"

Annabel smiled. That was the beautiful thing about Sasha. Her looks gave off a completely different feel and, as such, she could be counted on to surprise whoever they were after, with her unexpected talents.

"Sasha is very good. Just because she looks delicate doesn't mean she isn't capable."

"That's not what I asked," Callen said.

Annabel looked at him carefully, trying to decide what to do. She came to the conclusion that he needed to know and if she told him what she could, then perhaps it would help build the trust between the two of them; a trust that she was starting to feel was going to be necessary to their survival.

"If Hetty asks, you tortured it out of me," Annabel joked.

Callen raised his eyebrows. "Yeah how?" he asked, his eyes dropping to her lips. He saw her swallow nervously, a faint flush of pink spreading over her cheeks. At least he wasn't the only one who felt something. Though that did make things a whole lot harder to resist. Callen felt her pull away and he let her go. She stepped back from him slightly before answering his question.

"You and Kensi are the targets, not Hetty or Sam. They want to get to you and they figure Kensi is the closest thing you have to a weak spot."

Callen frowned. So this was about him and Kensi, not the team. "Why?" he asked.

"Why are you the target or why is Kensi your weak spot?"

Annabel moved sat down on the bed and took off the makeshift icepack that had been wrapped around her foot, now that it had completely melted. She was feeling better, the stiffness had left most of her body with the movement from the walking, so she wasn't in so much pain anymore. Her foot, whilst sore, hadn't swollen up so that would be good come tomorrow.

"Let's start with Kensi," Callen requested. He watch as she used her good arm to rub her neck and shoulder.

"In a close knit team, it is assumed the girl is the weak spot for the guys. Generally, it is the case," Annabel said.

There was a protective nature in men, especially ones drawn to the field of work they did. It was natural for any females on the team to become like a little sister to protect, even when they were more than capable of doing it themselves.

"Are you Grey's weak spot?" Callen asked. She looked up at him before answering.

"No," she replied.

That wasn't the answer Callen had been expecting. "Is he yours?" Annabel looked away at his question, but not quick enough to stop him catching the grief that flashed across her face.

"If I had one, it would be him," she replied quietly.

There was pain in her voice that Callen added to the grief and wondered what had happened to cause it. "Why don't you have one?" he asked her, keeping his tone casual.

"Because I don't," she said firmly, dismissing the subject. Callen got the message.

"Why am I the target?" he asked, returning the conversation back to it's original purpose.

"I'm not entirely sure," Annabel replied. Hetty hadn't given her a lot of information. She hadn't asked. She only needed to know that Hetty needed them, and what she needed them to do. "All I know is that someone wants you badly and most likely wants you to do something for them or some information that you know," Annabel replied.

"So they don't want us dead?" Callen asked.

"No. Worse," Annabel said. Callen noticed a shiver go through her. She was still rubbing her shoulder so he moved over, stopped her hands and took over.

"What..." she started to say, tensing up initially at his unexpected touch.

"Relax. Can't have my bodyguard all tense can I? What hurts?"

"Everything," Annabel admitted. That hostess got some pretty good shots in all over.

"Really?" Callen asked. At the tone in his words Annabel realised that her response could have been taken a couple of different ways. Tempting as the idea that he had planted in her head with his tone, now was not the time.

"Neck and shoulders," she refined her answer to. They were the ones that still hurt when she moved.

Callen thought he heard a smile in her voice. She confused him. There were times when he felt she was taken, but other things suggested she was interested in him. He continued working his fingers over her neck and shoulder, avoiding her injured side, easing the tension out of them slowly and gently.

Annabel felt the muscles warm and relax under his touch, the stiffness dissipating as the time went by. "You're good," she said softly after a little while.

"There is a lot more to me than meets the eye, you know," Callen said.

"I'm sure there is," Annabel replied. His touch softened and became more of a caress that sent her thoughts in an entirely different direction. One that she wasn't sure was a good idea, given their circumstances.

"I'm good now," she said as she somewhat reluctantly, pulled away a little. "Thanks." She moved over and laid down on her right side, facing him. Callen did the same, reaching for the blanket that was at the bottom of the bed, bringing it up over them as he did.

"Sleep well Callen," Annabel said softly. Callen turned on his side and looked at her. She was lying facing him, so her sore arm was free of any pressure. She already had her eyes closed. He watched her for a while, trying to figure her out. This woman; green eyes, blonde hair, one name. A history with Hetty that hinted at hard times and a bond that seemed very strong. She confused him, excited him, somehow made him feel safe, all at the same time. He wondered if he would ever figure her out, get to know her. He hoped so. Eventually he drifted off into a light sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Kensi closed the door and walked over to the bed. Grey kicked of his shoes and settled back on the pillows. She sat down cross legged and look at him.

Grey raised his eyebrows at her look. It reminded him of one that Bel had, when she wanted him to talk.

"What is it with you and Hetty?" Kensi asked. She wasn't all that tired, and there were too many questions going around in her head.

Grey smiled. How right he had been. "What do you mean?"

"You two seem ..." Kensi wasn't entirely sure of the word she was looking for so she thought for a moment, "close, but she's never mentioned you before."

Grey put his hands behind his head and asked, "Does Hetty talk about her life a lot?"

"Not really, unless she's dropping hints about some potentially illicit affair or encounter or some minor reference to something big in world history that she may or may not have been involved in. When did you meet?" Kensi wasn't about to be misdirected. This day was too strange and she needed some sort of order to it all before she felt she could relax enough to sleep.

"About seven years ago," Grey answered. Oddly, Kensi was surprised he had actually answered. She had been sure it would take longer to wear him down.

"Doing what?"

"It was on a mission," Grey replied.

That got Kensi very curious. "Hetty worked for MI6?"

"No," Grey shook his head. "It was just a coincidence that we met her."

"We?"

"Shawn, Bel and I."

There was something about his tone, a reluctance to talk, that had a strange effect on her. She felt sympathy for him, yet she had no idea why he would need it.

"You're not going to tell me anything are you?" Kensi asked.

Grey shook his head, one of his hand absently running over the scar on his face, as he looked into the middle of the room, obviously seeing something from the past.

Kensi frowned. "Is that when you got the scar?" she asked gently.

Grey looked up and smiled slightly. "Observant aren't you?"

"It's in my job description," Kensi teased, though they both knew that it was true.

"Yeah. It was a rescue mission gone wrong. We went in to rescue a colleague, ended up needing to be rescued ourselves. Managed to rescue Hetty along the way."

Hetty had never hinted about anything like this. Kensi suppressed a small shiver at the thought of Hetty being in trouble. She was so little.

"I take it, it wasn't an easy mission."

Kensi could see the pain wash over his face.

Grey took a moment, a slow breath and then admitted, "One of the hardest I've ever been on. I almost lost her."

"Who?"

"Bel. If it wasn't for finding Hetty, we wouldn't have found her in time."

That would be the source of the pain, almost losing his sister. Kensi remembered how it had hurt when Callen was shot, when they had almost lost him and he, whilst family in the odd strange sense that her team was to her, wasn't family like Grey and Annabel.

"I'm sorry," Kensi said.

Grey shook his head slightly, clearing his mind of that mission.

"Anyway, that kind of bonded us, so we've kept in touch," Grey continued, his tone a touch happier. "Worked with Hetty a few times since then when she needed assistance with something in UK or Europe. She's helped us out when we had a problem here. She knows our boss."

"The boss that you mentioned. The head of MI6?"

Grey nodded. "Yeah, he was our immediate superior when we first met her. They'd known each other since their early twenties, maybe even longer."

Kensi just couldn't picture Hetty in her twenties. Hetty would always be Hetty, as she was. Their tough little boss who could get things done with just a look.

"You have any other family apart from Annabel?" Kensi asked randomly. Grey looked slightly shocked at the change of topic but smiled, a soft look coming over his face that Kensi was easily able to read. Family was very important to this man.

"Our parents are still around, living in a little village in Ireland. The quiet life appealed to them, after the hustle of living in London most of their lives." It was a great place to go after a rough mission. The peace and tranquility, the love, the comfort of a home away from home where you were taken care of, no matter how old you were.

"You married?"

Grey smiled gently, "Yeah."

"To?" Kensi asked curious.

"A woman," Grey teased.

Kensi rolled her eyes. "Does she have a name or is it a secret?" She honestly would have believed him if he had told her it was a secret. Given their line of work, relationships weren't all that safe if the wrong person found out. She guessed Grey trusted her enough as he actually answered.

"Olivia. She works for MI6 too," Grey added.

"Keeping it all in the family. She pretty?" Kensi sat back against the pillows, starting to feel slightly tired, even though she hadn't yet had her questions answered, at least not the ones she really wanted to.

"To me, she the prettiest." Kensi could easily see that he was speaking the truth. The look in his eye, the soft tone to his voice. This man was very definitely much in love with his wife. She smiled and Grey continued. "To the world, she's average, nothing out of the ordinary. Makes her a great back up agent. She can blend into background and no one takes any notice."

"Except you," Kensi added knowingly.

Grey smiled. "Never been able to not notice her." He went quiet again, this time though his thoughts were happy. His mind drifted to his wife, far away and safe. He blinked away the vision he was having and turned his head to look at Kensi, "We should get some sleep." It wasn't an order, more of a suggestion but he was firm about it.

"One more question," Kensi said.

"What? Can't promise I'll answer it."

"What's really going on? This last day, nothing makes sense. I've been sent on a mission that was supposed to be simple, have a drink, check out a place, go home. Only I ended up kidnapped, of sorts, by a strange man with a scar; shot at, followed by a high speed car chase; jumped out of a soon to be exploding plane; slept in the woods and now I'm about to go to sleep in a strange house in the middle of god knows where, with said strange married man with a scar. And I don't know why." Kensi had tried to keep a bit of lightness to her question, a bit of teasing, in the hope that it might make the question seem less serious and more likely to be answered.

"Because someone is after you and we're keeping you safe," Grey stated.

"Who?"

"That's two questions."

Kensi smiled and shook her head slightly. "Yeah but you didn't answer the first,"

"Yes I did," Grey disagreed.

"No," Kensi replied firmly. "You told me what we've already been told, not what's really going on."

Grey shook his head. "I'm sorry Kensi, that's all you need to know right now. That we will keep you safe."

"I want answers Grey," Kensi protested.

Grey let out a frustrated breath. "Tomorrow then. You can ask Hetty your questions."

Kensi rolled her eyes. "As if that is going to get me answers. I'll just end up with more questions."

Grey couldn't help but smile. "Hetty is the one to answer your questions, Kensi. Not me. I'm sorry I can't tell you more." He didn't like holding back, but Hetty had been firm that Kensi wasn't to be told until Hetty had spoken with Callen. Originally that had been planned for when they arrived at the safe house, now he wasn't so sure.

"It was worth a shot." Kensi settled more comfortably on the pillow and closed her eyes, resigned to not getting answers just yet. But get them she would. She knew that Callen and Sam would be wondering at least the same things as she was, so if they needed to gang up on Hetty, they would. Whether they would get answers out of her, was an entirely different story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Sam watch the four who had been banished to to the bedrooms leave. He sat patiently, listened carefully until he heard the sound of the bedroom doors closing. Then he turned his gaze to his boss.

"Hetty, what are keeping from G?" Sam asked, straight out.

Hetty looked at him, a curious yet remarkably innocent expression on her face.

"Keeping from Mr Callen?"

Sam didn't believe the innocent act. It wasn't hard. Hetty was rarely innocent when it came to knowing things

"Yeah. Come on Hetty." Sam sat forward, gazing at his boss with one of those looks he used on suspects, the one that usually had them become most co-operative fairly quickly. He just hoped it had the same effect on Hetty. He'd never tried it before on her. "You are keeping something from all of us, but G in particular," Sam continued.

"Sam," Sasha put a hand on his arm gently, pulling his attention from Hetty. "We're just trying to protect you," she added.

"You, protect me?" Sam's look gave Hetty reason to smile.

"Just because she's small, Mr Hanna, doesn't mean she isn't effective," Hetty replied, giving Sam a look that had him apologising.

"Sorry. But it doesn't make sense." Sam turned back to Hetty. "She stays but the big guy left. Surely he would have been a better option to keep. No offence," Sam added to Sasha.

"None taken," Sasa replied, looking calm and relaxed and, as suggested, unoffended. She even smiled at him.

"Shawn had his reasons for not being able to stay," Hetty added.

Sam turned back to him diminutive boss, a serious expression on his face. He was worried about G, what this had to do with him and after everything that had just gone down with Keelson and Amy, he was probably more concerned than normal.

"Hetty, help me watch his back and tell me what it is we are protecting him from."

Hetty took in the concern and worry she could clearly see in Sam's face. "That I cannot do, Mr Hanna."

Sam frowned and opened his mouth to speak. Hetty put her hand up to stop him. He closed it.

"I cannot tell you, because I am not entirely sure. Eric and Abby are trying to work this out. When they do, Eric will let me know. Until then," her tone becoming even more serious, "it is important that we keep them safe."

"Them?"

"Mr Callen and Miss Blye," Hetty admitted.

"They want Kensi too?" Sam asked shocked. He had started thinking this was only about G. It hadn't been that hard to jump to that conclusion considering recent events with Keelson. Though given that Kensi was the only one involved in a shoot out last night, he probably shouldn't have taken that step so quickly.

Hetty nodded.

"For what?"

"Regarding Miss Blye, it appears they want her as leverage to get Mr Callen to do or tell them something. What," Hetty continued before Sam could ask the question, "I do not know. But we will find out."

"I'm going to do a quick check outside," Sasha said as she stood up. "You want to join me Sam, make sure I don't miss anything?" she asked with a cheeky tone.

Sam smiled reluctantly, at least pleased that she wasn't holding a grudge over his previous comments regarding her abilities. "I'm sure you are good at your job."

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't," Sasha said seriously. "Annabel and Grey have extremely high standards, Sam. If I wasn't up to it, they wouldn't keep me around."

Sam nodded and Sasha left on her perimeter check.

"How well do you know them?" Sam asked Hetty when they were alone. G and Kensi's safety was in the hands of three people he didn't know at all. It made him a little edgy. Hetty could see that.

"I met Annabel, Grey and Shawn seven years ago." Hetty didn't usually share the tougher times of her life with her team. She usually just gave them enough to tease about the more interesting exploits. She thought for a moment before continuing, deciding to give Sam a small taste of what had happened without revealing to much. Sam needed to trust that Hetty had chosen appropriately, or he would be questioning Annabel's decisions constantly out of the need to protect his partner.

"I was ... being questioned ... about some things. They helped me out of a difficult time. Annabel's actions, I am sure, saved my life. Grey and Shawn followed on and saved us both. When that happens, as I am sure you would understand, a bond forms that can last a lifetime."

A sense of dread had settled in Sam's stomach at the way she had said ' being questioned'.

"Hetty," Sam's voice full of concern. This wasn't like one of her usual intriguing tales. "Were you being tortured?"

A shudder went through Hetty at the memory that word evoked in her. Sam saw it and frowned.

"Yes." It was all she would say on the matter, and Sam understood the tone and took the conversation in a different direction.

"Are you trying to play matchmaker with G?" Sam asked.

The jump in conversation momentarily confused Hetty. She hadn't been entirely sure that her tone would deflect Sam's questions.

"No. But you do have to admit, they make a good looking couple," Hetty said with a smile.

Sam was relieved to see that smile and the haunted look leave Hetty's eyes.

"He doesn't date law enforcement, Hetty. You know that."

"I'm not asking him to date her. I just need him to let her protect him." Hetty's tone changed from playful matchmaker to serious, concerned leader.

"You think she can do that?" Sam asked. He remembered how protective Annabel had been of G when they had arrived at the warehouse the previous night. She'd stepped in front of him, putting herself in the way of any attack, even though she had no protection for herself, made obvious by the unbuttoned shirt she had been wearing, showing clearly there had been no bullet proof vest under it.

"If he lets her, I have no doubt that she will give everything to protect him," Hetty added, her tone all knowing and confident about her statement. Sam knew there was a lot more to Hetty's meeting of Annabel, but didn't push with that line of thought.

"You need my help to keep him in line," Sam concluded.

"He listens to you."

Sam snorted. Hetty smiled.

"He does Mr Hanna," Hetty assured him. "Even if he seems like he doesn't. Your words do affect his actions."

"I'll see what I can do Hetty," Sam said, just as Sasha walked back in and gave her report as she sat down.

"All clear, streets quiet, owls are hooting in the trees."

"Owls?" Sam asked, a curious frown on his face.

"Animals are notorious for picking up when things are about to go wrong. If they weren't hooting, I'd be worried," Sasha explained.


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N - Thanks so much for all the reviews, they are really encouraging. Also, if there are questions you have about the story, let me know. Just so I can make sure I do answer them somewhere along the way. Sometimes I miss things and I'd like to make sure that I don't leave you hanging (for too long anyway)_

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_._

**Chapter 13**

Annabel drifted awake, it was dark, though the moon allowed a certain degree of light into the room. It took her a moment to realise that she was comfortably tucked into Callen's side, head on his shoulder, her sore arm resting on his chest. She had no idea how that had happened and quickly moved away.

"You didn't have to move, you know," Callen said. She turned quickly at his voice, wincing a little as it hurt her neck.

"You okay?" Callen asked, as he pushed himself up slightly, having noticed the look on her face and the sudden stop to her movements.

"We should let the others get some sleep," Annabel said, ignoring his question. She wasn't okay. She was stiff and sore and she didn't want him to offer to fix it, which was happening far too often at the moment. He was too good and she was still sleepy, a time when her resistance and willpower had the potential to be lacking. Considering where her thoughts had drifted to last night, she wasn't entire sure she wouldn't do something she shouldn't She sat up, moved her legs off the bed and put her shoes on, willing herself awake.

"You coming? Or is there something you haven't told me about you and Sam?" Annabel asked, laughter in her voice, as she stood up and turned to him.

"You can't talk," Callen retorted, smiling. "I'm sure there's a lot you haven't told me about you and Grey." Callen was hopeful that she might fill him in on that situation.

"Feel free to ask him anything, if you're game." Annabel walked to the door and opened it, turning her head carefully to look at him. "Come on Callen, can't be leaving you alone. You need to get up."

"Make me," Callen challenged.

Annabel looked at him for a moment, wondering what he had been hoping she would do. There was something in his voice.

"Fine," she said, pulling her thoughts back. This was ridiculous, she needed to get a grip and focus on the job at hand. "I'll just give Hetty a call then shall I?"

Callen chuckled softly. "And you say I'm cruel." He sat up and put his shoes on, before standing up and walking over to her.

"Let's go," Callen said.

They walked down the stairs in silence, joining Sam, Hetty and Sasha.

"Who's next?" Annabel asked.

Hetty looked up. "Was that enough?" she asked. She could see that Annabel still looked tired.

"I slept, I woke up. Long enough," Annabel replied.

Hetty turned to Sam and Sasha, "You two go on. I'll rest after Kensi and Grey wake up," she told them.

Hetty watched closely as Callen and Annabel sat down, Annabel resting her bruised foot carefully on the table, Callen sitting beside her. Hetty smiled to herself. It looked like Callen may be co-operative after all, though at present she wasn't entirely sure which one of them was taking care of the other.

"So she told you then, Mr Callen?" she asked.

"Told me what?" Callen asked, turning to Hetty and keeping his tone neutral.

"That you and Kensi are the targets not all of us."

Callen put on a surprised tone. "Really? I didn't know that." He felt a little shake from Annabel, next to him as she tried not to laugh. He turned and looked at her, she smiled.

"Give me a little credit Mr Callen," Hetty replied.

"Fine. I tortured her, made her tell me," Callen said with a wink at Annabel.

"No you did not," came Hetty's confident reply.

Callen turned to face Hetty again, "You don't think I could have done that?"

Hetty looked at him and smiled, a small knowing smile. Normal for Hetty. "I have no doubt you could have done the torture part, but as for Annabel telling you anything from that, I know she wouldn't."

Callen grinned as he turned to look at Annabel. "I wouldn't count on it." He had his ways, they might not exactly classify as torture though. Annabel rolled her eyes at him and settled her head back against the couch. She did still look tired, no wonder Hetty had been concerned.

"You forget, Mr Callen, I know Annabel," Hetty said. "You simply asked the right questions and she felt that it would be better that you knew. I was going to tell you."

Annabel smiled at how spot on Hetty's assumption was.

"I'm sure you were Hetty, but it should have been sooner," Callen said firmly, focusing on his boss. "Anything else you should have told me?"

Hetty shook her head, something resembling a look of frustration appearing on her face as she answered him.

"No. We didn't have time to figure out who was passing on the information. Eric will be trying to figure that out now with the help of Abby and Agent Gibbs."

"You sent Eric off alone?"

"Eric is quite capable of flying from one side of the country to the other. He is an adult, even if he doesn't dress like one."

That was sometimes debatable, but Hetty was right. Eric should be able to managed that. Especially if he wasn't actually in danger.

"For now," Hetty continued, "all we know is that we need to keep you and Kensi safe, and out of anyone else's hands except ours."

"Hence the twenty four hour bodyguards," Callen added. He could live with that.

Hetty nodded, "Yes. Please, accept the protection. Let her do her job."

"Why do you trust her so much Hetty? How did she save your life?" Callen asked. He watched as Annabel and Hetty exchanged looks. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to get an answer as he caught a look of pain and something that could be interpreted as terror, flash extremely briefly over both their faces at his question. He frowned.

Hetty nodded at Annabel and, after a brief pause where Annabel closed her eyes and took a breath, Annabel started the story.

"Grey, Shawn and I were in ... " Hetty cleared her throat and Annabel smiled, "were somewhere, attempting to rescue another MI6 agent, who had been caught by a terrorist cell. It was about seven years ago. Unfortunately, Shawn and I got caught, but Grey managed to slip away." Annabel felt the familiar emotions settle on her at the memory, but held them back out of her voice. "They took me to cell which just happened to be with Hetty. She wasn't looking too good and they wanted her for another round of interrogation," Annabel finished.

Callen's eyes narrowed in surprise and he glanced over at Hetty. Interrogation? He felt a small amount of horror settle in the pit of his stomach.

Hetty continued, tag team style, with the story. "Annabel convinced them to take her rather than me. Something along the lines of she would know more than I would, unless of course they were looking for recipes their grandmother used to make." Hetty and Annabel exchanged smiles, it was a rare moment from that time that they could actually smile about

"Grey managed to find a way to get Shawn back, then the two of them started searching for me," Annabel said. "Back up was on the way but Grey knew I was in trouble, so he kept going."

"When Grey and Shawn found me," Hetty took over again, "I was able to lead them to where Annabel was, having walked the path so many times over the preceding three weeks."

That small amount of horror in Callen's stomach grew much larger at the thought of Hetty being in that situation for so long. It grew even more with Hetty's next words.

"Annabel was barely alive. They had decided to try a new interrogation technique."

This time Annabel couldn't hold back the shudder that went through her. "Hetty was already weak. She wouldn't have survived what they did," she said, trying to divert Callen's attention away from it, as he looked at her and frowned. It didn't work, he continued to watch her.

"You barely did," Callen said, his voice soft and concerned. He hadn't expected to find out that Hetty had a rather horrifying story to tell, usually they were tinged with excitement and intrigue.

Annabel shrugged. "I made it. Just after Grey found me, the rescue team, this time much larger, came in. We all got out." She was trying to make light of it but Callen could see that it wasn't easier for her to tell the story.

"What did they do to you?" Callen's question slipped out before he could stop it. It had been a thought that formed into words that he'd had no intention of asking. He watched as Annabel paled and shook her head at him. He was very tempted to pull her into his arms, to offer some form of comfort.

"Annabel put her life on the line for me, when she didn't even know who I was," Hetty said bringing Callen's attention back to her.

He looked back to Annabel and asked, "Why'd you do it? Why did you risk your life for someone you didn't even know?" Annabel looked at him for a moment, a mix of emotions going over her features that he wasn't able to read, before replying.

"Sometimes you don't need to know someone to know that they are worth dying for," Annabel replied softly, a shadow crossing her face as she looked away from Callen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

"Is there a problem, Annabel?" Hetty asked sometime later as Annabel sat up straighter, pulled her foot of its resting place and frowned. Annabel glanced at Hetty and stood up, moving over to the window, moving the curtain only marginally so she could see.

"Not sure. Something doesn't feel right."

Callen stood up and went to join her.

"What?" he asked standing close.

"Instinct," she said, her voice soft as she watch outside carefully.

"You feel it too, Bel?" Grey asked as he walked into the room with Kensi following. Annabel turned and looked at him.

"Yeah, I'm gonna take a look outside. You watch them." Annabel removed the safety pin from her shirt, and carefully flexed her arm, pleased that she could move it with only a small degree of discomfort. She wouldn't even classify it as pain. She started to move away from Callen.

"You can't go out alone," he said. Annabel turned back to him.

"Yes I can," she said. Callen put his hand on to stop her.

"You're injured. What if there is someone out there?"

Annabel placed her hand on top of his, gently removing it.

"If they get me then Grey keeps you all safe," Annabel said seriously. "If you come with me, then they'll get you. Which is what they want. Callen, I know what I am doing. I'll be back soon."

Callen watched her go, not liking this. He turned to Grey.

"You're just going to let her go alone? Both of you think something is wrong."

"She knows what she is doing, Callen. She's the best one of us at moving around in the dark. Even if someone is out there, it is highly unlikely that they will notice her, unless she wants them too." Grey wasn't concerned, if he was, she wouldn't be out there. He knew that Annabel could move about in the dark like a ghost. She could do it without even disturbing a twig. He'd been surprised by her many times when they were kids and playing hide and seek, by popping up right behind him and tapping him on the shoulder.

Less than five minutes later she was back. Callen and Grey both looked up. Callen was relieved that she looked perfectly fine.

"Anything?" Grey asked, as she came over and sat next to him.

"No," Annabel shook her head, "all clear but, I can't shake it. I want to be out of here before sunrise. Find somewhere else and then watch. I need to know if someone knows where we are." She reached for the computer which was on the table and started looking for another place. She felt Callen watching her but didn't look up at him.

"Here," she said finally, passing the small machine to Grey, "it's a couple of blocks over. It doesn't mention an alarm, so should be good. It'll do for now." Annabel looked at her watch; 3 am. "We go in two hours. Hetty, you should get some rest."

Annabel stood up and walked into the kitchen to get a drink. Callen followed.

"Wouldn't it be best to get out of town?" Callen asked.

"Yes," Annabel agreed. "But we don't have a vehicle yet and that isn't going to be easy." She washed her glass, dried it and put it away where she had found it, then turned to him.

"What are we going to do about that?" Callen asked.

"Look Callen, we'll figure it out. We just need to take it one step at a time," Annabel replied. Callen stepped forward, closer to her.

"One step at a time is fine," Callen said firmly, "Just fill me in on what the steps are. I can help if I know what needs to be done." He really wasn't good at sitting back and letting someone else decide on things. No wonder Hetty had pulled in assistance to help.

"Keeping you and Kensi safe, that is what needs to be done, however we can," Annabel stepped closer to him. "I need to know why I feel this way. I need to find out who is watching us, if someone is watching us." Annabel's tone was a cross between determination and desperation. Callen could see the confusion and worry in her eyes as well, and knew the only way for it to go was for her to find out what was going on.

"Fine. I'll be coming with you when you watch." He'd had a hard enough time not following her outside earlier. He didn't think he could sit back and let her watch for some bad guys she had a feeling were coming, on her own.

"No," she said, but he put a finger on her lips and stopped her talking.

"Yes," he said firmly.

"Am I interrupting something?" Grey asked from the doorway.

"No." Annabel stepped back away from Callen. "We're done." She walked out of the kitchen, leaving Grey looking suspiciously at Callen.

Callen followed and as he passed him he heard Grey say, "Remember what I said, Callen."


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N - So we know Hetty trust's them completely, but why exactly? She might not be willing to tell her team too many details, but for this chapter, she's willing to share with us, just a little more. The memories are written from Hetty's pov  
_

_Thanks again for the support for this story._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_._

**Chapter 14**

Hetty closed the door quietly to the bedroom and laid down on the bed. She stared up at the ceiling and took a slow, steadying breath. She'd only told Sam a small part of what had happened. It had been a long time since she'd thought about those few weeks. She knew that it would come back in her dreams tonight if she didn't remember it now. They always did. Memories she could handle, she could keep control of. Dreams on the other hand, nightmares in particular, she hadn't managed to learn that yet, even in all her years. She may not have control of them, but she had learnt to outsmart them. Remember first, before she went to sleep and they didn't come back. At least for her it worked. So she remembered. Not the interrogation, just the rescue. That would be enough.

o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

She was sitting quietly, trying to focus and remain calm, when the door opened and another woman was thrown in. The newcomer quickly stood up and looked around, as a man stepped inside and turned to her.

"Time for our daily chat," he said, a sneer on his face. "Something new today to help loosen your tongue."

She narrowly suppressed the shudder at the look on his face, the enjoyment he was going to get out of what was coming. She attempted to stand up but, in a momentary display of weakness that she would normally live to regret, she collapsed back onto the floor.

The other woman looked at her, then turned to the man.

"What? You looking for what to cook for dinner tonight?"

"Shut up!" he yelled

"You really think that little old woman has got anything important to say?" the other woman asked, a sarcastic note to her voice. "The only things she's likely to know would be recipes for old fashioned, home made dinners like your grandma used to make. But hey, if that's what you are looking for..."

He smacked the woman across the face then turned to her. "Get up," he ordered.

The young woman continued. "At least bring me what ever it is you cook okay. Haven't eaten in days."

She tried to stand up again. This time making it to her feet, just. The woman looked at her, concern flickering on her face briefly before she turned back to the man,

"You know your boss probably won't be too impressed when you get a recipe for Irish Stew when you could get the name of the MI6 agent who is working right under his nose. But then maybe he's missing his granny too."

Another slap, harder this time that sent the young woman's head crashing against the wall. She flinched in sympathy. She knew that feeling all too well.

"Enough of your wisecracks," the man growled. "You come with us and tell us everything you know."

He turned to he. "We'll be back for you later," he warned.

The woman glanced back to her, just as she was being dragged out the door. She saw the fear in her green eyes, but also the small smile that she gave her.

Her heart tore in her chest. Whoever that woman was, was going to regret saving her just now.

She slid back down the rough wall and the tears fell for her protector, At the same time though, a part of her heart warmed at the thought that there were people out there that would give anything to protect someone, even when they didn't know them.

.

XXX

.

It was many hours before she heard anything again. She'd been in this cell for almost three weeks. Nineteen days. Whilst she could count the days, (they left the lights on most of the time, only turning them off briefly, giving her a chance to fall sleep before turning them back on again,) she wasn't able to count the hours. However, when the lock to the cell clicked open, she knew that the time had come to face her tormentors again. Instinctively, she back further into the wall, like she was trying to hide.

When the door opened slowly, she sensed something was different. A tall man, green eyes with blood still seeping slightly from the wound on his cheek, stepped through. He looked around and she saw his face fall in despair. Then he turned to her, the tears shining in his eyes.

"A woman, blonde, have you seen her?" he asked desperately.

Hetty could only assume that whoever this was, was here to rescue the other woman.

She nodded.

"Where is she? Please. She's hurt. I need to find her," he begged.

"I know..." Hetty tried to clear her throat so she could speak. The man stepped over to her slowly and handed her a small bottle.

"It's water. It's safe. I won't hurt you," he reassured her gently.

Hetty smiled tentatively and took a sip. It helped.

"I think I know where to find her. They took her away to talk."

He closed his eyes briefly and then looked at her.

"Help us, please. We'll get you out of here too," he promised.

She nodded and started to stand up, but she collapsed again.

He moved to her side and picked her up, placing her feet gently on the ground.

"Thank you," she said.

"Show us?" he asked gently.

She frowned. Us? They moved out the door and she stepped back into him, slightly frightened when she saw the form of a huge man standing outside.

"It's okay. This is Shawn. I'm Grey. Help us find Bel, please. Before it's too late."

"This way," she said as she pointed and started walking the path she reluctantly knew so well.

At a corner, just before the room they were trying to reach, they heard voices, but they had nowhere to hide and she froze. Grey and Shawn stood one on each side of her, as the warnings about prisoners loose and hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor. Gunfire was shortly added to the noise and it rang through her ears. She narrowly avoided adding her scream of terror to it. The thought of being taken back to the cell, questioned again. She'd rather die here and now than face that again. She felt someone touch her hand and she jumped. She opened her eyes to see the warm, brown eyes of the gentle giant named Shawn, looking at her.

"You're all right, but we need to hurry. Can you move?"

She nodded and they moved quickly to the door of the room that she had hoped never to see again. She avoided looking at the fallen men just down the corridor, even though the temptation was there to see if one of them was her tormentor.

Grey stepped through the door first, gunfire briefly ringing out, as Shawn quickly followed, pulling her in behind him. Two more bodies had fallen and she saw the woman Grey had called Bel on the table, unmoving.

Shawn pulled her around and closed the door as Grey rushed to Bel's side, after ensuring the other unwelcome occupants of the room were dead. Shawn barricaded the door and moved quickly to Bel's side as well.

She slid down the wall to sit on the floor, feeling useless in her weakened state, as she watched the two men hover over the woman.

"Come on Bel, come back to me," Grey begged, touching the young woman's cheek.

"Grey, her pulse is barely there," Shawn informed him, "What the hell have they done to her?"

At that point a moan came from the table.

"Grey?" the voice came so softly, it barely reached her.

"Bel, hey. We're gonna get you out of here. I promise," Grey said, relief in his tone.

"Go," Bel whispered. "It's too late."

"No!"

"Love you," Bel added, even softer than before.

"BEL!" Grey yelled.

"Her pulse has gone," Shawn said quickly. Grey moved to start CPR.

"See if there's some adrenaline in this torture chamber. Bel, don't you dare stop fighting," Grey ordered.

She felt the tears in her eyes watching their frantic movements trying to save this woman, wishing there was some way she could moved quickly, pulling vials of the shelf and eventually found what he was looking for, the adrenaline and a needle. He pulled out the dose and moved next to Grey.

"Do it," Grey ordered. Shawn injected the adrenaline straight to Bel's heart.

Grey checked for a pulse and his head dropped briefly, as did hers at the thought the young woman had died.

"It worked," Grey breathed in relief. He lent close to her face. "Bel?"

But there was no answer from the woman, though there was increased gunfire outside and voices yelling.

She stood up, scared and Shawn moved over to her.

"Come, over here, away from the wall."

They moved and waited. Grey continuing to hold Bel's hand and stand protectively between her and the door. Shawn doing the same for her.

They all knew that they wouldn't be going anywhere. They would either die here, or be rescued, but there was nothing they could do to alter the outcome. It was in the hands of someone else.

Grey pulled out a phone and dialed.

"Please tell me that's you outside," his tone desperate.

He paused and waited for an answer.

"Good, we need a medi-vac. Fast. Bel, she's not good at all."

There was a bang on the door and they all jump.

Grey looked at Shawn and nodded.

"We're opening it now." He hung up.

"It's our guys," Grey reassured them both.

Shawn walked over to the door, moved the barricades and, gun drawn, opened it slowly at first and then fully. In came four other men.

"Medi-vac's two minutes out. We've got to move now."

She frowned. That voice sounded familiar.

Grey moved to Bel, gently gathering her in his arms and carried her out, his pace fast but smooth and careful.

Shawn turned to her. "We need to move fast. May I carry you?"

She nodded, she was still having trouble standing, there was certainly no way she could walked quickly right now. Shawn picked her up in a hold that belied his strength, it was so gentle. It almost brought tears to her eyes. He quickly followed, catching up with Grey whilst the other four men surrounded them, keeping close watch to ensure their safety right through to the helicopter where Shawn, Grey, Bel and herself, plus one of the other men, climbed in. The moment the doors were closed the helicopter was moving.

The other man looked at her, removed his helmet and mask and smiled.

Her breath caught at the sight of a familiar face.

"It has been a while, Henrietta."

"Graham?" she asked in a disbelieving tone.

"The one and only," he replied. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Thanks to that young woman, I believe I am."

"That would be Annabel," Graham replied with a concerned look at the woman, as the doctor on-board strapped the unconscious Annabel to the medical equipment and IV's.

Graham slipped an arm around Hetty as she started to shake.

"You'll be fine Hetty," he promised. "We'll take care of you. Just like we'll take care of Annabel. You're both safe now."

.

XXX

.

They had been flown to a small local hospital, where she had been checked over and Annabel stabilised, whilst one of the MI6 planes had been fitted out so they could take Annabel straight back to London and a hospital there.

She had returned with them too. It had taken another week before Annabel woke up and another three weeks before they had released her from the hospital.

She had been admitted as well, for just over a week before the doctors were happy with her condition. During that week, she had been in the same room as Annabel. It had made things easier that they only had to secure the one room. Grey and Shawn had kept a constant watch over Annabel. One of them always being in the room.

During her stay, they would sit with her and talk or read, play card games. Almost anything to pass the time, but the moment a noise came from the young woman on the bed beside her, they were out of their chairs and over to her. Graham would visit as well, and she was grateful for the chance to catch up with her long time friend.

They were all relieved when Annabel finally woke up. She knew that this team was close, but when she saw the tears that had freely flowed from both the men, in relief, she knew this was more. She already knew that Grey and Annabel were twins, but Shawn, whilst not related by blood, showed just as much concern and love for the young woman as Grey did.

Once she had been released, she had continued to visit Annabel on a daily basis. This young woman had undoubtedly saved her life and she wasn't planning on returning to the States until she was released for hospital as well.

Over the years, she had called on the help of this little team, as had they on her. She knew, without any shadow of doubt that she could trust them with not only her life, but those who she cared about.

o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

The nightmare completed, in the controlled environment of her still awake mind, Hetty closed her eyes to get some much needed sleep, secure in the knowledge that she had the people she trusted the most in this world looking out for her family.


	15. Chapter 15

_A/N - Sorry for the delay. I had hoped to get this one up sooner but the plot bunnies are busy tunneling around toward the end and I needed to make sure there was nothing else I needed to slip into this chapter._

_Thanks for the reviews, alerts and favouriting. Appreciate the encouragement._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

**Chapter 15**

It was just before five when Annabel stood up.

"Come on, Callen. You can wake Sam and Sasha, I'll wake Hetty. We need to leave soon."

Kensi and Grey started tidying up, making sure that the house was back exactly as they found it and they left through the back door, making sure it was locked behind them.

"Grey, take them to the other house," Annabel said, keeping her voice low and quiet. She glanced at Callen, who gave her a look that told her firmly he was coming with her. Reluctantly, she turned back to Grey and continued. "We'll watch and meet you there later."

"How much later?" Grey asked.

"If we aren't there by eight, turn on the radio and wait," Annabel replied. "If you don't hear from me within ten minutes, take them and go."

Grey nodded his understanding. Sam and Kensi frowned.

"G?" Sam asked.

Callen was standing beside Annabel, making it clear he was part of the 'we'.

"I'll be fine, Sam," Callen assured him. "Look after Hetty for me. You know how much a handful she can be," he added with a grin.

"Let's go," Grey ordered quietly, as he stepped over to Annabel and kissed her on the cheek. "Be careful, Bel."

"You too," Annabel replied. Grey glanced at Callen and then turned and led the others quietly around the house and away.

They watched them disappear, then Callen turned to Annabel.

"Where to?" he asked.

She tilted her head to the house next door.

"House next door has a cubby house up in the tree, decent view of the street, between the houses," Annabel answered. "Hope you don't have a problem with heights," she added, laughter in her voice.

"No problem, but how are you going to climb a tree with your arm?" Callen asked as he followed her.

"Thought you'd carry me up," she whispered back as they got closer to the house next door. They made their way quietly over the fence. At the bottom of the ladder, she turned to him. "I can climb a ladder one handed, Callen. Don't worry about me."

He followed closely, just in case she needed a hand. She was right and she got safely up and into the cubby house easily.

Callen looked around, little tables and bean bags, cupboards. A window looking out towards the street. It was quite impressive.

"Not bad," Callen complimented. He'd been in worse surveillance spots before.

"Could do with some blankets, but it'll do," Annabel replied. "Now we wait."

"For what, though?" Callen asked her, as they settled back on a couple of the bean bags, that were more like large cushions for them.

"I don't know. We'll find out soon enough," she said, looking out the window into the still dark night.

~~~~~~~~~~~o

The rest of the team made their way quickly and quietly to the house two blocks away. Once inside and settled, Sasha and Sam watched the front and back, just in case.

Kensi looked at Hetty, then at Grey. Grey chuckled.

"Hetty, Kensi would like some answers. I told her you would tell her today."

Hetty looked between the two them. "You didn't tell her anything?"

"No," Grey replied.

"Well, you held up better than Annabel," Hetty said, with what was probably the closest thing to mischief they had heard from her in a long time.

"Annabel told him?" Grey asked.

"Yes. She felt it best."

"So, what's going on, Hetty?" Kensi interrupted.

"You and Mr Callen are the targets. Someone wants Mr Callen, and they want you to make him do whatever or tell them whatever it is that they are after."

"How?" Kensi asked having a feeling Hetty was leaving something out.

"I would hazard a guess that they feel if you were in harms way, Mr Callen would do anything to protect you."

"That's not true, Hetty. You know that. He wouldn't do anything just to protect me."

A snort came from the window where Sam was sitting.

Kensi looked up at him and frowned. Sam looked at her.

"Come on, Kenz. You know both G and I would do anything to protect you."

"But not - " Kensi started to protest.

"We would, until we could work out how to get you back," Sam added.

Kensi turned back to Hetty and Grey. "Why do they think that, though?" It wasn't like her and Callen were in a relationship or anything. They were team mates. Okay, so the team was like a little family, but no one outside really knew that.

"It is most likely, an assumption. But nevertheless, it is true. We need to make sure they don't get either of you."

"So, they're not after you?" Kensi asked.

Hetty shook her head.

"Or Sam?"

Again, Hetty shook her head. Kensi glanced over at Sam and frowned. Turning back to Hetty she asked, " Why are you two here then? Shouldn't you be back at the office helping Eric?"

Kensi wasn't entirely sure if she was better off not knowing. None of it made sense even with Hetty's explanation. Sure, it wasn't all of them, but it was still Callen and her. They didn't know who or why. Had she really gotten anything to help her understand?

"Kenz," Sam said, "you know G. It'll take more than one bodyguard, no matter how cute he thinks she is, to stop him from going after whoever is after him."

Kensi smiled. "So you're the muscle, Annabel's the cute factor and Hetty is the protective leader giving the orders?" Kensi asked.

Grey laughed softly at her descriptions. "Don't under-estimate Annabel, Kensi. She has more than just the cute factor going for her."

Hetty smiled, and then she added, "Until he is willing to follow Annabel without question, yes."

"He certainly seems willing to follow her. Is it really a good idea for the two of them to be watching?" Kensi asked, directing her question more toward Grey than Hetty.

"Annabel wouldn't be watching unless she needed to. She also wouldn't be unless she had somewhere safe to be able to watch from. If someone is following, they won't see her, and as long as Callen follows her orders, they won't see him either," Grey assured her.

"How long, Hetty? Before Eric finds something and this is over?"

"My dear, I wish I could tell you. When Eric finds something he will let me know," Hetty assured her.

"How?"

"We have ways," Hetty replied mysteriously.

~~~~~~~~~~~o

Callen and Annabel watched and waited. After about an hour, just after the sun started to brighten the sky, two vans pulled up out the front of the house they had been in. They watched as at least ten men, dressed in black and carrying weapons, slipped out and surrounded the house before moving in. They both ducked down below the window and looked at each other, slightly shocked at the number of men and how well armed they were. They heard the back door open and a voice say, "I doubt they are far. The signal came from here, what, just over an hour and a half ago. Next one is twenty minutes off. Pull out, we'll wait in the middle of town. See where the signal comes from. She's close. I can feel it."

Annabel moved to look out the window. Callen tried to pull her back down. She looked out for just a second and saw all she needed to before coming back down.

Callen noticed she looked extremely shocked and pale. He didn't say anything, not sure if anyone could hear, which was entirely possible if they could hear them. He frowned and she shook her head. He watched as she set a timer on her watch.

When everything was clear, they left the comforts of their surveillance position and hurried to the new location. Still, Annabel didn't explain, she was in too much of a rush. Almost running the last part of the way.

Grey was waiting at the door and, as Annabel stepped back to let Callen through first, he heard her say, "Keep them safe."

Callen turned to see her already disappearing over the back fence into the trees. He turned to Grey, who closed the door, stopping him from following her.

"What are you doing?" Callen asked.

"Keeping you safe like she asked," Grey replied.

"What is _she_ doing?" Callen asked.

"I don't know," Grey replied. Callen thought he saw a shadow of concern flash across his face. That look added more worry to Callen. He'd never seen Grey look concerned about Annabel's actions before.

Callen reached for the door handle, "I'm going after her."

"No," Grey replied firmly, putting a hand on the door to stop him. "She knows what she's doing."

Callen turned and glared at him, shaking his head slight.

"Do you really believe that?" he asked. "Don't you know her well enough to see that something is wrong?" He'd seen it, the look on her face when she had heard that voice. The shock after she had looked out the window. He heard it, in her voice just now. Surely Grey must have too.

"I trust Bel," Grey answered.

"Maybe you shouldn't. I'm going." Callen pulled the door open and walked out. Grey didn't try and stop him this time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Callen didn't catch up with Annabel. He stayed back in the shadows to watch what she did. He saw her enter and leave the house that they had previously been in and cross over to the one the other side of the road; a 'For Rent' sign out the front giving him the indication it was another vacant house. He slipped in to see what had happened. He found a necklace, one he recalled her wearing, pinned to the wall by a knife from the kitchen together with a note, 'You bastard!'

Callen quickly left, his instincts screaming at him that something about this had just gotten personal for her and this could get very ugly. Carefully, sticking to the trees and shadows as much as he could, he made his way around to the other house. He found her at the upstairs window, watching carefully, so absorbed that she didn't even hear him.

Callen heard the vehicles arrive, heard the people moving. He continued to watch her. He saw the tension increase in her; saw her pull out her gun and aim. At that, he moved quickly. He pulled her away from the window, covering her mouth and pushing her against the wall, making sure one hand held the gun away from them.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Callen hissed, before he registered the tears pouring down her face.

Annabel stared at him, he saw such hatred in her eyes which confused him. He couldn't believe that it would be for him. The sound of a car door closing made her move. She pushed him away from her and rushed to the window.

"No," Annabel moaned and turned to glare at him.

"Bel, what's going on?" Callen asked.

"Only Grey calls me that," Annabel snapped. "You should have stayed with him."

Callen stepped back slightly at her tone. Even without knowing her for long, he could easily tell she was extremely distressed and angry. He frowned. "You _know _they would have come in here. You would be dead if I had."

"Maybe that's what I want," Annabel replied sharply, pain coming into her voice replacing some of the anger.

"No you don't," Callen assured her, stepping closer to her, hoping to provide some comfort for the pain he could clearly see and hear. It was a move he almost regretted when she raised the gun directly at him.

"You don't know me, but if you ever do that again, I will shoot you," Annabel warned and then she ran. Callen followed, keeping her in sight. He erred on the side of caution and didn't try to catch up with her until they were almost back at the house. He stepped through the door just behind her.

Grey looked up at the two of them, frowned and stood up, his eyes fixed on Annabel. When Annabel rushed upstairs and they all heard a door slam closed from an upstairs bedroom, Grey turned his attention to Callen.

"What did you do to her?" Grey asked. Callen could hear it in his voice that Grey would probably like to kill him. He'd have to get in line.

"Nothing. Except stopping her getting herself killed. Care to fill me in on what's wrong with her?" Callen asked. He wasn't concerned about Grey's reaction, just Annabel's.

"What happened?" Grey demanded.

Callen glanced up the stairs, fighting the urge to ignore Grey and follow her; make sure she was okay. He turned away from the stairs and answered, hoping Grey could shed some light on what had just happened before he went to her.

"I found her in the house across the street, ready to shoot someone who had been following some trail that led to where we were. I stopped her. She was crying." Callen stopped as he saw Grey's eyes close and a sad look cross his face. "What?" Callen demanded of Grey.

"Bel only cries over one thing. Zoe." Grey looked up the stairs. "She's going to hate me for this," he added under his breath as he started up the stairs.

Callen put his hand out to stop Grey, "Why?"

Grey looked at him for a moment before answering. "She'll hate anyone for finding her that way. Hates to show weakness." Grey turned to continue, but Callen stopped him again.

"She already hates me, I'll go," Callen offered, thinking back to her reaction to him at the other house. He didn't think Grey would let him but he nodded and stepped back down the stairs.

Callen went up and found the room she was in. He walked in and closed the door behind him. Annabel was on the floor, leaning against the wall, knees up and still crying. She looked over at him at the sound of the door closing.

"Go ... please," she begged him and put her head down on her knees.

"No," Callen replied firmly, but as gently as he could make it. "Not until you tell me what's going on. Why suddenly I'm the bodyguard?"

Callen waited patiently and eventually, Annabel looked at him; so sad, so much pain in her eyes, but no anger this time. Callen wanted to hold her, comfort her, something to take away that pain. It reminded him of when Dom had died, the look he'd witnessed in his team mates eyes, only it was so much worse in hers.

Annabel finally spoke, the words tumbling from her lips, like she couldn't stop them.

"You wanted to know why I don't have a weak spot. Because she's already dead. Her name was Zoe. She was so beautiful. Her skin so soft, eyes so blue, even bluer than yours. She was only mine for a day, then she was gone. I held her as she died, saw her look at me ... then close her eyes and she never opened them again." Bitterness trickled into her voice as she continued. "He played me, he knew I'd never take it off. He had a lock of her hair made into a pendant for me. I didn't know he'd put a tracking chip in it. Now it's gone. It was the only thing I had left of her and he's taken that from me."

Annabel stood up and walked slowly to him, tears still pouring down her face.

"Can you understand why I wanted to kill him? Can you understand why I didn't care what happened to me? She's gone and I have nothing. He's taken her away again."

Callen reached out and put a hand on her cheek, stroking away the tears with his thumb.

"Who was she?" he asked softly. It was the more important question to her than who he was.

"My daughter ... My baby girl," she said. Callen couldn't stop himself, he pulled her into his arms and held her tight. Annabel kept talking as she wrapped her arms around him.

"She had a heart problem, ultrasound didn't pick it up. She wasn't strong enough after the birth for the operation. They told me there was nothing they could do. All I could do was hold her. She couldn't even feed. One day Callen, that's all I had her for, one day," Annabel explained, pain and distress clearly in her voice, though he could also hear the love mingled with it.

She looked at him, and he kissed her. It started gently, just a soft brush of his lips against hers, for comfort. She stared into his eyes for a moment, before she repeated the kiss. But this time, it changed after the first touch. Suddenly nothing was enough for either of them. Every touch, every kiss. The other had to make the next one more. Callen didn't care that she was someone else's. Annabel didn't seem to care either. They fell onto the bed, in a world of their own making, shutting out the pain and the worry of their lives; just them and whatever they were feeling for one another.

When they were finally satisfied, Callen felt her start to shake and felt her tears fall onto his shoulder. He stroked her back and whispered, "You know that's not exactly the reaction I was hoping for." Annabel looked up at him for a moment, before moving off him and the bed. She started to get dressed.

"Annabel?"

Annabel shook her head. "Don't worry, Callen. You were perfect. It's me that's broken," she said softly, as she pulled on her shirt and walked to the door.

"That's not the way I see it," Callen replied, still lying on the bed, watching her.

Annabel turned and looked at him, pain and anguish still in her eyes. "I am far from perfect." She walked out and closed the door, leaving him to wonder whether he had managed to comfort her at all, or just hurt her more.


	16. Chapter 16

_A/N- Timezones are awful to work with, both in fiction and in reality! I'm hoping now I've managed to get everything in place, in the right sequence for timezones, so hopefully now, the ideas and words will flow a little quicker._

_Thanks to evershort for this idea for Nate._

_Thanks for all the support, reviews, alerts etc. It's really great and encouraging._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_._

**Chapter 16**

Nate woke up early the next morning. He'd been dreaming, an odd dream, but one that he could clearly remember. He'd been taking Kensi home, from what he wasn't sure. They'd walked to her door, she'd opened it and that was when he had noticed that her apartment looked like it had been ransacked. Kensi had invited him in, completely calm, as if nothing was unusual at all. He'd followed her in and looked around, trying to figure out if someone was still there. He'd even said something to Kensi about it. She just looked at him and said, "Nate, don't worry. My apartment always looks a mess." Then someone had stepped out of one of the other rooms and fired a gun at them.

It was at that point he woke up, breathing heavily. Whilst the dream was weird, it had given him a somewhat reasonable idea to pursue. He got up, dressed and headed to Kensi's apartment, after a quick stop at the office for the keys to all of their apartments, Hetty's included.

Stopping first at Kensi's, his dream still at the forefront of his mind, he carefully opened the door and stepped in. A sigh of relief slipped from him at the relatively tidy apartment in front of him. He wandered around, searching for something, though he wasn't quite sure what. He wasn't trained like the agents to see things that were wrong, but he was a psychologist, trained to see things about people. He knew his team mates well enough, aside from Callen, that he hoped he would spot something that indicated what their behaviour had been like when they were last here.

The lounge room, bathroom and bedroom showed no sign of anything odd. The bed was even made. He'd glanced in her wardrobe and saw a couple of suitcases and travel bags. He frowned, briefly wondering if that was a sign she hadn't packed anything. It was quite possible she had more than those, but he noted it in his mind anyway. Moving to the kitchen, he checked the fridge and cupboards. Finding milk and fresh foods that would most likely go off whilst they were away, and a rubbish bin that needed emptying, his frown returned. Unless Hetty had surprised them all, he was quite certain Kensi would have removed all of that before going away. No one wanted to come home to food rotting in the fridge or the bin, in particular the smell would be awful. He took out the rubbish and perishables and dumped them.

Next, he stopped at Callen's. That was almost futile. His current place was a short term studio apartment and all that was there were some papers, clothes and toiletries, plus his bedroll thrown in the corner of his room. What did bother him, and he was pretty sure it had nothing to do with whatever it was that had happened to them, was the photocopied piles of paper that he noticed were part of the file they had retrieved from Keelson on Amy Taylor. He had started to wonder lately why Callen hadn't stayed on the couch so often. From the looks of the paperwork, it was entirely possible Callen had been heading home to work. He packed up the papers into the box that was on the floor and left. He didn't think it would be a good idea to leave them there, just in case they didn't get back before the manager decided it was time to kick out the non-existant tenant.

Sam's place was similar to Kensi's, nothing out of place and, whilst the rubbish had been emptied, there was still a small amount of perishables in the fridge. There were messages on Sam's answering machine, and he listened to them. None of them gave him anything. Just some pest control reminder for next month, telemarketers and an old one from one of his family members wishing him a Happy Birthday. The message made him smile. He was sure it was some of Sam's niece's and nephews singing. It would explain why it was still on his machine two months after Sam's birthday.

Hetty's was next. He stood out the front, gathering up the courage to go into her lair. Hoping he wasn't about to get into trouble, well at least hoping that when Hetty came back, safe and sound, he didn't get into trouble for snooping. As he looked around, looking for similar things that he had found in the other apartments he became even more thoughtful. Hetty's place was perfectly organised for her not to be home. The rubbish was all removed, the fridge empty of anything that could go rotten. There was even an automatic feeder set up for the fish. That had surprised him. For some reason, Hetty didn't seem like a pet person. Hetty knew she was going to be away. It looked like the others didn't. Which could be explained if Hetty had picked them up early in the morning and given them no time to do anything.

He stopped and stared at the fish tank. Something wasn't quite right with that last thought he'd had. The fish looked at him. He absently wondered if they were going to tell Hetty that he had been there. The bed. The thought popped into his mind. Kensi's bed had been made. So had Sam's. If Hetty picked them up early, then they probably wouldn't have taken the time to make their beds. It followed then, if he was right, they had gone the night before. Which meant they had been gone close to twelve hours before they'd even realised they were gone. With one last look at the fish, who were now ignoring him, he turned and left Hetty's place.

Eric's apartment was the last on his list. In contrast to everyone else's, his was a disaster zone, except for where his precious computers were. That area was completely organised. He wouldn't be surprised if, somewhere, Eric had a map detailing exactly where everything was and should be. If it hadn't been for the computers, he would have sworn that someone had actually been in here robbing the place. He moved into Eric's bedroom. The drawers had been rifled through, there were clothes thrown on the bed and it actually looked like a dent from a bag in the covers. He went to the kitchen and checked the fridge, no perishables, but the rubbish hadn't been taken out. A closer inspection showed that the fridge didn't look like it had contained perishables, at least in the terms of fruit and vegetables in a while. The crisper at the bottom was completely clean and looked unused. Last stop was the bathroom. Nate took in the towels on the floor, clothes roughly thrown in the hamper and was about to walk out when he noticed the lid on the cistern was crooked. He stepped over and lifted it carefully. He saw the tape on the inside of the cistern, just above the water line. He was no agent, but that certainly looked like something had been hidden in there. He took another look around the apartment, slower and more detailed. There wasn't much more to notice, except the empty space between two suitcases in the wardrobe, that hinted another bag should be there. He started to wonder if maybe Eric had known something the others didn't.

He drove back to the office, mulling over everything in his mind, trying to make sense of all the little pieces he'd found. The best conclusion he could come up with, was that Hetty had taken them by surprise and ordered them to leave straight away. But Eric. Eric's apartment suggested that he had left in a hurry, actually taking things with him.

He walked into his office and sat down. He wasn't an agent and he needed help trying to figure out what all this meant. Give him a person sitting in front of him, aside from Callen or Hetty, and he could pretty much tell you what was really going on with them, given what they said, how they said it and what they were doing when they said it. Give him a room with clues and he couldn't do a whole lot with it.

He picked up the phone and, after a quick check of the time, he dialed Director Vance to fill him in on his findings.


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N - Thanks for so much support on this story. I really appreciate the encouragement of the reviews from you all._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

**Chapter 17**

Callen stood up, got dressed and went downstairs to find Annabel standing with Grey, his arms wrapped around her. He watched as Grey kissed the top of her head tenderly and then guided her to the couch. Everyone else was sitting around watching the exchange silently. He tried to ignore the jealousy that slammed through him, seeing her with Grey. It's not like he didn't know. He moved over and joined the rest of them. Annabel picked up the small computer and started working on it.

"What is going on, Grey?" Hetty asked, her gaze flickering between Grey, Callen and Annabel. He guessed he hadn't missed anything.

Grey glanced at Annabel, who refused to look up from the computer. Grey turned back and started to explain.

"We were compromised. Our boss, Mitch, our immediate superior. Not Graham. He planted a tracking chip on Bel. It's gone, but we need to find a way out of here that doesn't leave a trail for him to pick up." Grey paused briefly. "Given the fire power they arrived with, we don't think it was a friendly visit."

Callen noticed the nervous glances Kensi and Sam exchanged.

"He's the one after us?" Kensi asked. They'd briefly discussed the idea of someone at MI6 being compromised early on in this mission, but Annabel had assured them that it wasn't likely.

"He's after us. Whether he is the one or not, we don't know," Annabel added.

Callen could still hear the emotions in her voice, even though they weren't as strong.

Kensi was about to ask how the tracking device had managed to still be on her when they had supposedly left everything at the airport. Hetty caught her eye and with a small shake of her head and a firm look, Kensi bit back the question. Hetty gave her a smile and a small nod. No doubt Hetty would explain later, when she was ready.

"We need cars to get out of here. Ideally, one to take all of us, but in such a small town, that is going to be unlikely. Stealing is going to be hard because everyone knows everyone else," Annabel continued. "At least, they will if it's anything like England."

"And stealing two not really an option," Grey added. "That would like sending up a flair to Mitch. Someone to give us one and not say anything is the best chance we have."

"Where do we find someone like that?" Sam asked. It wasn't like people just handed over cars to strangers every day. It wasn't the old days where everyone trusted everyone else. Today, it was a suspicious world.

"I'm trying to get into the DVA records, see what's registered here. Just having a bit of trouble," Annabel said, frowning at the computer.

"Want me to try?" Kensi offered.

Annabel looked over. "You good with hacking?" she asked.

"A little. Eric and Dom taught me a few things," Kensi replied. Annabel stood up and handed over the computer.

"Go for it," she said and sat back down again, putting her head back and closing her eyes. She was having a hard time at the moment, seeing Callen sitting across from her after what had happened upstairs. Being completely honest with herself, it had more to do with everything else that had happened. Him seeing her like that; him putting himself in danger; her putting him in danger when she was supposed to be protecting him. What had happened after he'd kissed her, that she certainly hadn't minded. She didn't know how long she was lost in her thoughts for, but she opened her eyes when Grey spoke her name.

"Bel," Grey said. "Kensi's found us some options. We're going to go check them out," he continued.

"Who's going?" she asked, sitting up straighter.

"Sam and I," Grey said.

Annabel shook her head. "You can't," she said, looking over at Kensi.

"You can take care of them just fine," Grey assured Annabel. "We'll be back soon."

Grey and Sam started to leave.

"Grey?" Annabel called before he walked out of the room.

Grey turned back.

"I'm sorry," Annabel said softly. Grey nodded and smiled. He knew what she was sorry for. Things got personal, something that was very rare for Bel. But he understood. He turned and left with Sam.

Callen was watching her, still trying to understand what had happened. Not the act of what had happened, that he knew easily. But why? He watched Annabel ask Kensi for the computer and start searching for something. He was sure she was trying to ignore him. Hetty was watching him and he looked over at her.

"What?" Callen asked, knowing that look.

"Is everything all right, Mr Callen?" Hetty asked.

"Perfect," Callen replied, his eyes darting to Annabel as he spoke. She looked up at him but turned back to the computer quickly. Not quick enough though, he saw her blush. At least that was something. He wasn't usually interested in pushing a relationship knowing there was someone else involved. But this time, he was tempted. He mentally shook his head at that thought. If she wants this, she'll have to come to him.

Grey and Sam came back about half an hour later, a spring in their step that wasn't there when they left.

"We have two cars. We'll pick them up in about half an hour. Filled up ready to go, just around the corner," Sam said, sounding rather pleased with the outcome of their expedition.

"How did you manage that?" Callen asked.

"My charm," Sam replied. Callen and Kensi rolled their eyes. Grey smiled.

"Found some people who are ... conspiracy theorists," Grey answered seriously. "Sam spun a story and they've agreed to help. We've got the cars for forty eight hours. So we'll need to figure out some way of getting them back or at least telling them where to find them, other wise they will report them stolen."

Kensi stood up, eager to be on the move. "Good. So let's tidy up and get out of here."

"Where are we going though?" Callen asked.

"Right now, anywhere that's not here," Annabel replied as she stood up and started up the stairs to help with setting the house back the way they found it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Half an hour later, they were in all settled in the cars. Callen, Annabel and Sam in one. Grey, Kensi, Hetty and Sasha in the other. The plan was simple for now; get out of town, head down the highway for an hour then find a small motel to stop at and work out the rest. Annabel had the computer with them and was still researching the rest of the plan. Callen was driving their car, Kensi the other. Being mindful to look out for the black vans, they found their way out of town, using the back streets and avoiding the main road. Sam and Grey kept a look out for anyone following for a good half hour before they settled back and relaxed, with only the occasional check.

After an hour and a half, Kensi pulled into a small, rundown looking motel. Callen followed, parking the car down the other end of the lot, whilst Kensi parked right outside reception. Kensi and Grey made their way inside.

Kensi picked up the bell on the desk and rang it impatiently.

"What can I do for ya?" came a voice from behind a door, as it opened and old'ish man stepped in.

"Looking for a couple of rooms, need to get some sleep for a few hours before we crash somewhere not comfortable," Grey said, as Kensi followed the lead and rested her head on his shoulder, letting her eyelids droop a little.

"Couple of rooms?" the man looked at them.

Kensi smiled slightly. "Got the mother-in-law in the car. Need a break from her, some privacy. If you get my drift," she added whilst fluttering her eyes a little at Grey. He smiled and lent down, brushing her lips with his.

Grey turned back to the man, "But if you've got adjoining rooms, that would be good. She'll make our lives miserable if we put her far away."

The man looked down and reached for some keys. "The two at the far end. Need both keys to open the adjoining door. Pay cash and I won't ask for details." He held the keys out, but not quite far enough for them to reach.

That was good news. Cash payments couldn't be traced, for either party and Grey had a feeling this man may very well live a lot better off than the motel decor suggested he could.

Grey reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "How much?"

"$100, for the two," the man replied.

Grey pulled out the appropriate note and handed it over. Taking the keys, they smiled their thanks and walked out the door, arm in arm.

Slipping into the car, Kensi started it and, as she drove to the other end, parking next to the car Callen had driven, she asked teasingly, "Does your wife approve of you kissing other women?"

Grey smiled, "She knows she's the only one for me, Kensi. Don't worry. You won't have a jealous wife after you when this is all over."

Sasha giggled in the back. Kensi glanced at her, curious.

"You disagree?" Hetty asked.

Sasha shook her head. "No. Just the idea of Olivia being jealous is quite funny, when it's actually the other way around."

Kensi glanced at Grey and back again.

"Why?"

"Grey is rather protective of her. Hates it when she goes out undercover or on missions. Particularly when she's with someone else," Sasha informed them, a lightness to her voice that wasn't common in any of them at the moment. They all smiled and enjoyed the brief moment of fun.

"If they'd let me go out with her, there wouldn't be a problem would there?" Grey retorted good naturedly, because he knew that would never happen. If he went out with Olivia, the mission would be a complete failure, he'd be too pre-occupied with his wife.

"What's good for the goose..." Kensi trailed off, teasing him as they stepped out of the car.

Grey looked at her over the car, shook his head and smiled. "One day, Miss Blye, you will understand."

Kensi's bubbly expression dropped briefly, before she put it back. Ever observant though, Grey noticed and, as they stepped through the door, sending Hetty to the other room, he softly said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad."

Kensi turned to him. "It's okay. It was a while ago. I ... I haven't really thought about it much lately."

"Still... I am sorry."

They stopped their conversation as Hetty knocked on the adjoining door. They opened their side and all joined together in one room, sitting where ever they could find space.

"Where to, Bel?" Grey asked. All eyes turned to the blonde woman.

"I've found a place in a little town, about five hours from here. It's touristy, so lots of people and if, somehow, Mitch finds us, there will be lots of witnesses, so hopefully that will narrow down when he would be likely try anything, giving us a bit of down time during the day."

"When do we go?" Sam asked.

"As soon as everyone has had a chance to make use of the bathrooms. I don't know about anyone else, but I could really do with a hot shower," Annabel replied as she stretched her neck and shoulders a little and wince at the pain that was still in them.

"Go then, Bel. We'll sort out a plan."

Annabel nodded and stepped through to the other room, whilst Sasha made the most of the other bathroom.

"Callen, can I word?" Grey asked, as he stepped over to the far side of the room. Sam, Kensi and Hetty looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

Callen stood up and walked over to him.

"Is Bel okay?" Grey asked quietly.

"You know her better than I do," Callen replied vaguely. He wasn't about to admit to Grey what had happened earlier.

"Did she tell you about Zoe?"

Callen nodded.

"She feels guilty, Callen. About the necklace. She never takes it off and... Anyway, she is very sorry."

"There's nothing for her to be sorry about. It was a mistake," Callen assured him.

"A mistake that almost cost the mission. She doesn't let things get personal, normally."

"Grey, I'm not mad at her. She's probably mad at me but-" he stopped as Grey shook his head.

"No, she's not mad at you. Just herself."

Grey was about to say something else but Callen stopped him. "I'll talk to her, okay."

"Thanks," Grey replied and moved back to sit with Kensi and Sam. Sasha emerged from the bathroom and joined them.

"Callen?" Kensi called. He turned and looked at her. "You want the shower?"

Callen stood up, "Sure. Get in before you use all the hot water."

"There something you two aren't telling me?" Sam asked. Kensi punched him and Callen smiled as he walked past them to the bathroom.

After Callen had disappeared into the bathroom, Kensi turned to Hetty. "Why did you stop me earlier? Annabel assured us that everything was s-"

"Miss Blye, Annabel lost her child. The details further than that are..." Hetty's voice trailed off as Grey joined them

"It's okay, Hetty. Kensi has a right to be upset. Bel made a mistake." Grey turned to Kensi and started to explain.

"Zoe died the day she was born, Kensi. Mitch had a necklace made, put some hair of Zoe's it. It was so Bel could always have something with her. It was the thing that got Bel back to work." Grey took a breath. "She didn't know what to do anymore, but when Mitch gave it to her, it was like she could move on, because she had Zoe with her. I don't know why he did it, but he put a tracking chip in it. That's how he found us at the house. She left it at the house. The only thing she had left of Zoe. It's gone."

"I'm sorry," Kensi said gently, hearing the emotion in Grey's voice. Not just for Annabel but for him too. Zoe had been his niece. She also understood the pain of losing someone you loved. Even if it wasn't that of a child. She remembered the necklace that she had in her jewellery box, the one with her engagement ring on it. She wore it whenever she wasn't working.

"How long ago?" Kensi asked delicately.

"Two and a half years ago."

"Not that long," Kensi added softly. Grey shook his head, agreeing.

It had been four years since her fiance had died. It still didn't feel like a long time to her either.

Callen stepped out of the bathroom and the conversation returned to the plan of getting away from here and somewhere safe.

After getting filled in with instructions for the coming drive, Callen went into the next room. He sat on the bed and waited. Annabel came out with her hair, loose and damp, falling around her shoulders. She stopped when she saw him, a hesitant look on her face. She glanced at the adjoining door which he had closed.

Callen stood up and walked over to her.

"Grey tells me you're sorry."

Annabel nodded. "I messed up."

Callen put a finger over her lips to stop her continuing.

He'd been trying to work out what to say to her since Grey's talk. He hoped he had the words right.

"If I had something that precious, I wouldn't have taken it off either."

If you'd asked him that before he'd met Hannah, before he had that memory of Amy from his childhood, his answer would have been entirely different. But now, now he remembered, even if it was just one memory, he knew that he would have trouble letting something go that had belonged to his family or someone he'd loved like that. He probably would have taken it off for an undercover mission, he certainly wouldn't have taken it off for something like this.

Callen saw the tears come to her eyes before she could close them and hide from him.

"Annabel," he said gently, hoping to encourage her to open her eyes and looked at him. He waited patiently until she did. "I'm sorry you lost her."

Some tears escaped her eyes at his words and he pulled her in to hold her close. This time he didn't kiss her, just held her until she was ready to pull away.

"Thank you," Annabel whispered as she wiped the tears away.

"Ready to get this crazy show back on the road?" Callen asked.

Annabel nodded and they stepped back through the adjoining door to the rest.

"G," Sam said as soon as they were in there. "Don't like sitting here. Think we should get moving."

"Fine by me. What do you say, boss?" Callen asked, turning to look at Annabel. He was rewarded with a smile for his comment.

"We know how we're getting where we are going?" Annabel asked Grey.

"Yep," Grey nodded. "Drivers know what to do. You just have to sit back and relax."

Annabel rolled her eyes. "As if. Anyone else want the bathrooms?"

They all shook their heads. They were all ready to move on.

"Let's go then."


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N - Okay, a little bit of action and trouble, hopefully I've pulled it off. Don't have a lot of experience writing these kinds of scenes so hope you enjoy._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

**Chapter 18**

Kensi, Grey, Hetty and Sasha left the motel first. Callen, Annabel and Sam followed five minutes later, allowing for a decent amount of space between the two cars, just in case someone was looking for them. They didn't want to make it obvious that they were together.

Annabel sat in the back and closed her eyes, her head leaning back against the headrest, as she listened to the playful banter going back and forth between the two men in the front. She smiled at the affection she could hear in the underlying tones to their teasing. When she felt herself almost drop off to sleep, she sat up straighter and opened her eyes. She couldn't fall asleep right now; it wasn't the right time. She turned her head carefully, looking behind them, just to check. She tensed and her eyes narrowed, as she saw what could be a black vehicle in the distance. It was a long way off and she had no way of knowing what type of vehicle it was.

Annabel turned back to the front, trying to relax, even though her mind went over what they had done this morning and whether the was a chance the black vehicle was Mitch. But she couldn't see how he would know they were heading this way. She checked again, but the vehicle wasn't behind them anymore. She shook her head, telling herself to stop being so paranoid. Slightly paranoid was okay, but a black speck of a vehicle far in the distance almost causing her to tell Callen to get off the road, was a bit too paranoid.

It was only twenty minutes later that she was regretting that talk to herself.

She was looking out the side window, watching the scenery go by, absently thinking how much greener it was in England, even more so in Ireland. She smiled softly at the recollection of that little country cottage of her parents, where she'd spent a few months after Zoe had died, whilst she'd tried to work out what to do with her life. The pampering, the space, the comfort, the peace and the laughter that her parents always gave, somehow knowing which one she needed at any particular time. There were times when she thought that they knew her better than she knew herself. She'd missed them recently, having not had a chance to visit in the last few months. She had a feeling that she would need to go back after this nightmare was over. Someone to take care of her for a little while.

Something dark blotted out the scenery and she frowned at the interruption to her thoughts. She glanced out and up, to see a familiar face looking down at her, a confident smile on his face as he gave her a small salute, as the black van continued to pass them.

"No!" escaped her mouth, in a disbelieving tone.

"Annabel?" she heard Callen call out to her. "What's wrong?"

Annabel mentally shook herself out of the frozen state she was in.

"Mitch. He's in that van," Annabel told him as she reached for the phone, dialing Grey as fast as she could. She turned and looked out the back, seeing a second black van coming up fast behind them.

"Callen, there's another one behind us," she said quickly as she waited for Grey to answer, the seconds it took feeling like minutes as she alternated between watching one black van speed away from them and the other get closer.

"Yes?" Grey answered.

"They've found us, get off the road fast. Mitch has just passed us but he's moving quickly."

She heard Grey inform Kensi as she felt the response of the car as Callen started to accelerate.

"Are you okay?" Grey asked.

"There's another one coming up on-" Annabel words were cut off when the rapidly approaching van rammed them from behind and the phone slipped out of her hands.

"Damn," she heard Sam mutter as Callen told them both to hang on as the van came in for another attempt. It missed, as Callen floored the accelerator and pulled away. She reached out to hold on as best she could as Callen put more space between them.

"G? You know what you are doing?" Sam asked.

"Not a clue. Just trying not to get killed."

"That's a start." Sam replied.

Callen had no idea how he was going to get away from the pursuing vehicle but keeping it behind him for the moment would hopefully give them a chance to figure something out. That, and stop the painful ramming of the car. He'd felt the tightness from the seatbelt digging into him during the first one and his mind had briefly gone to Annabel and her shoulder. He noted a sign saying it was only ten miles to the next town. Maybe, if he could stay ahead of them for now, once they got there he might be able to lose them in it. Ditch the car and run.

Annabel turned to look out the back but couldn't see the van. She looked out her window, just as it crashed into the side and forced them partially off the road.

"Sam, think you can take out one of the tires at the front if I can do one at back and get them to drop behind," Annabel proposed as she reached for her gun. Sam wasn't in a position to take out the front yet from his side, but if she could get the van behind them he could take the shot out the window.

"Worth a shot," Sam replied. In the back of her mind Annabel laughed at the pun, intentional or not, that Sam had just made. She was reaching for the controls to put down the window, when the van crashed hard into them again, causing her head to smash against the window from the jolt. She saw stars and groaned. She tried to focus, but everything needed to stop spinning first.

"Annabel?" she heard Sam. She glanced him, or hopefully it was him, and heard him swear.

"What?" Callen demanded. The temptation to turn and see for himself what had caused Sam's reaction was great but he held his focus on driving. He was sure something had happened to Annabel.

"Just drive, G," Sam ordered as he put down his window in an attempt to be able to at least shoot at the car, even if it wasn't the tires.

Annabel focused hard on the window, hoping if she could manage to stop things spinning she could still take that shot. She vaguely heard Sam fire off some shots. Before things stopped spinning the van slammed into the side again, her head narrowing escaping another crash as she put her hand up against the window to hold herself away. It was pure instinct, she hadn't even known she'd thought about it. This time the van stayed right up against them, pushing them off the road.

This time she heard Callen and Sam swear, almost in unison and in her mind, which was temporarily having trouble accepting that they were in a huge amount of danger, she found it quite funny and wondered which was one matching up with the other.

It took a few moments for her to register the urgent tone as Callen shouted at them both again to hold on as the car started spinning. However, seeing the potential sharp drop when she saw the view out the other window spin by, and that they were very close to being pushed off the edge, didn't take long. The two cars continued to spin together and Annabel closed her eyes, desperately hoping that Callen's driving was a hell of a lot better than whoever was driving the van.

Callen held the wheel, tried to remember everything that he could about driving, getting out of spins, but he couldn't recall anything that would tell him how to shake a van off that seemed attached to you. He must remember to talk to Hetty about adding that into their training, or at least a refresher course on it. In the end, he just reacted; accelerator, clutch, gears, steering wheel, brakes, both foot and hand, he just let things happen, went on instinct and switched his mind off and sent up a silent prayer, just in case there was someone out there looking out for him aside from Hetty.

Annabel felt the car stop spinning, but it continued to slide sideways and she held her breath. As the car came to a halt, she heard a creaking sound and she opened her eyes, looking out the window there was nothing there, no van, no trees, just a view that suggested they were very close to the edge. Her head was hurting badly, but at least the world seemed to have stopped spinning both literally and in her head. Then she head the crash and sound of an explosion.

"Nobody move," Callen warned, as he shifted his weight toward the centre of the car. He unclipped his belt, just as the car shifted a little as the edge of the road shoulder started to break away under the wheels.

"Sam, open your door. Annabel, lean in to middle but don't move," Callen ordered.

Callen started moving carefully and slowly, making his way into the back seat through the two front seats. It was a tight fit but there wasn't a whole lot of choice. He couldn't kick Sam out because it was entirely possible that the change of weight would send the car over the edge quicker. He glanced at Annabel as he went and frowned, as he noticed her newest injury. He opened the back door and knelt carefully on the seat, ready to exit the car just as soon as he could get a decent grip on Annabel.

The car slipped again and Annabel held her breath, didn't move and just looked straight at Callen. He looked at her.

"I need you to grab my hands and I'll pull you out when I say. Sam, you'll need to move out when we do."

"Got it," Sam said as he turned his head slightly so he could see Callen and Annabel.

"Annabel?"

Annabel nodded slightly and carefully unclipped her belt, her eyes still fixed on him. Callen didn't take his eyes off her. It was her turn to trust him now, as he'd trusted her in the past. He could see it in her eyes that she did.

"On three. One, -" But the car started to shift again and Callen reached out, grabbed her hands and pulled her out as swiftly as he could. The two of them tumbled back onto the gravel, Callen doing everything to protect her from the rough surface.

Sam, in tune as always with his partner, moved at the right time without the need for the countdown. They all turned to watch the car slip and disappear over the edge.

Annabel buried her head in Callen's neck, breathing heavily, as she heard the crashing of the vehicle, the thud and the sound of an explosion that followed.

"You okay?" Callen asked softly after he had checked Sam over who had just walked closer to the edge of the ravine to inspect the scene.

Annabel lifted her head and looked at him. "Considering I wasn't in the car when it went over, I'd have to say the answer should be yes, but honestly, I'm not sure right now."

Her mind was spinning with everything that had happened, everything that had gone wrong, not to mention the spinning that had returned from the crash. To top that all off, adrenaline was coursing through her body. She knew that at some point that would wear off and she had no idea what she would do then. She felt Callen rub her back slightly in a comforting way and that just added to the craziness of her life right now, as thoughts and emotions started that she really shouldn't be having at the moment.

"Alive is always good," Sam said as he stepped back and helped them both get to their feet. Annabel swayed unsteadily and Callen put his arms around her to keep her upright, frowning again as he glanced at the cut on her head that was leaving a trail of blood down the side of her face and through her hair.

Annabel turned her head to look at him, a very serious expression on her face.

"You know you're not Bond right?" Annabel asked him.

Sam and Callen exchanged smiles before Callen answered her.

"It was pretty cool driving, you have to admit that."

"He does have a point," Sam conceded.

It had been. The number of times he'd seen the ravine so close to taking their wheels and the car, but managing to pull out just in time, then eventually forcing their pursuers down it. It was close to something you might see in a Bond movie.

"Yes," Annabel agreed. "But this isn't a movie. You don't have a stunt double. You aren't bullet proof, and as much as I wish it, you are not guaranteed to survive this. Because this isn't the first of three movies that you've signed on for. This is real."

Callen could hear how worried she was. He had a strange urge to make her smile, despite the dire circumstances that they had just found themselves in.

"At least tell me I get the girl," he said to her, continuing the Bond theme of the conversation.

Annabel couldn't help it and laugh softly, a large amount of disbelief in the tone of it. She glanced at Sam. "Just how bad did he hit his head?" she asked the bigger man.

Sam glanced at Callen, saw the bruise on the side of his head and then looked back at Annabel and the cut that was still bleeding.

"Not as bad as you," Sam replied.

Annabel moved her hand up to her head and winced as she felt the cut and the warm blood on her fingers.

She looked back to Callen. "You'd rather a girl than the multi-million dollar pay packet?"

"She's not just any girl though," Callen replied, focused on her and, compared to his previous words, his tone was serious.

Annabel's breath caught and heart skipped a beat at his look. She didn't really know what to say and was unsure if she was grateful or not when Sam spoke up, breaking the moment that was developing between the two of them.

"We need to get out of sight. Find out what happened to the others."

Annabel stepped back slightly, out of Callen's arms. She felt in her pocket and groaned. "My phone, still in the car. Please tell me one of you still has yours?"

Both men pulled out their phones. Sam looked around and pointed to some trees on the other side of the road.

"Let's head in there to start, just in case Mitch comes back."

They started moving and Callen slipped an arm around Annabel as she stumbled.

"I think you need to trade me in," she muttered. If she kept this up, she be the one needing a bodyguard, or perhaps a whole lot of bubble wrap would do.

"Nope, I'll keep what I've got," Callen replied. She looked at him and smiled. "Just try not to get hurt anymore," he continued.

"I will see what I can do," Annabel promised as they moved across the road and into the trees.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

The phone rang and Grey frowned, as he answered it. "Yes?" He wasn't expecting a call so soon. He heard Annabel's voice in his ear, desperate and worried.

"They've found us, get off the road fast. Mitch has just passed us but he's moving quickly."

"We've got company coming up from behind. Off the road fast," Grey told Kensi. There was a complete silence for a split second which felt much longer before the engine roared and the car raced forward, pushing everyone back in their seats.

"Are you okay?" Grey asked.

"There's another one coming up on-" Annabel words were cut off at a loud crashing sound.

"Bel!" Grey called out. But there was no answer, the phone call being cut off.

"Grey help me out. Is there anything on the GPS coming up that we can take?"

"Stop!"

Kensi slammed on the brakes, instantly reacting to her boss' firmly yelled order.

"Go back. There's a lane just behind on the left," Hetty added.

Kensi turned the car around, in a space that Grey wouldn't have thought was possible and headed in the direction Hetty had indicated. She found the lane and turned into it, taking it slowly so as not to leave a trail of dust floating to give them away. Following the lane through the trees, they came to a small cabin and stopped. All of them got out of the car quickly, drawing their guns and waiting to see if anyone else came down the lane. After a few minutes they relaxed slightly and Grey suggested they check out the cabin whilst waiting for word from the others. The cabin was empty and they settled themselves down to watch and wait, after giving it a thorough search.

When the phone rang a few minutes later, Grey answered, putting it on speaker.

"Bel?"

"No, it's Sam. You all okay?"

"Yeah," Grey answered, "We got off the road, down a lane. No one's followed yet. What about you?"

There was silence for a moment before Sam answered and worry settled heavily on them at that.

"We're ... mostly okay. Don't have a vehicle anymore, Annabel has a nasty bump on her head, but the good news, sort of, is we have one less van pursuing us. It's at the bottom of a ravine and rather toasty."

Hetty's hand went to her mouth in shock and Kensi's eyes widened.

"Where?" Grey asked, reaching out to Kensi and mouthing the word keys to her. She quickly handed them to him.

"We're just across from the big shoulder on the road that drops off," Sam replied.

Grey knew where that was, he remembered it flying past just a few minutes before Hetty had yelled at Kensi to stop.

"That's not far, I'll come get you."

"No," he heard Annabel say. "If it's not far, Sam, tell them we'll walk. Just find out to where."

"Sam, can she make?" Grey asked, understanding the reason behind Bel's request, but concerned about her. If Mitch was looking for them, it was certainly best if they kept the car off the road.

"We'll make sure she does," Sam assured him.

"Okay, but just call if need me."

"We will," Sam said. "Where are you?"

Grey explained where they were, what side the lane was and an approximate distance to them.

"Okay, we'll say half an hour. We'll call you and let you know how we are doing. Hopefully we'll be with you by then. Bye."

"Bye Sam."

Grey turned to look at the rest of his group.

"At least they're okay," he added as he sank down on the couch. Sasha moved to sit next to him and placed a reassuring hand on his.

"She'll be fine, Grey. You know she's tough."

"I know, Sasha. It's just she's taken so much right now. Not sure how much more she can cope with," Grey added.

"You know she can handle this, Grey," Hetty said gently. Grey looked at Hetty and smiled slightly.

"It's not the physical I'm most worried about, Hetty. I know she can handle that," Grey replied.

Hetty nodded her understanding. This would be nothing compared to seven years ago. This was more about Zoe and the betrayal that was happening with this mission.

"Sam and Callen will take good care of her," Kensi added.

They all settled back, Grey glancing at the time often as they waited for the half hour to pass.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Sam hung up the phone and looked at Annabel, still standing with Callen supporting her. Her eyes were still looking slightly dazed and the bleeding from the head wound had slowed down, but he was concerned.

"Are you sure, Annabel?" Sam asked.

"I'm sure. I'll be fine, Sam. Just might be a little slower than normal." She'd dealt with worse than this before, though not a whole lot worse whilst she was still standing.

"Grey'll come get us, just say the word," Sam reminded her.

"I'll let you know, Sam," Callen answered instead.

Annabel turned to him. He shook his head at her.

"If I don't think you are doing okay, we'll be calling him back," Callen told her firmly.

Annabel was about to protest but she realised how stupid that would be. She had a bleeding head, a huge shock and not a lot of sleep of late. Add all that up with what was likely to happen when the adrenaline rush wore off, she knew it would be better to have someone else decide for her, at least for a little while.

"Okay," she agreed.

Callen frowned at the unexpected response. He'd honestly thought she would protest more than that. "I'm going to let you go. I want to know if you can stand still without me."

Callen stepped back from her slightly. She seemed okay. "Look at Sam," he ordered. Annabel turned her head slightly. "Now back to me." She did, and when she only swayed a little, he was happy to let her walk, for now.

"Let's move then, but you keep hold of Sam or me for the entire way." Callen reached out for her hand and she put hers in it. He smiled and turned to Sam. "Lead on, Partner."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

When there was a knock on the door, the occupants of the cabin all jumped, guns drawn and hearts racing slightly.

"Just us," Callen called out before opening the door. Grey hurried over to them as they stepped through the door, Callen supporting Annabel. She had started to feel extremely tired when they had spotted the cabin from the lane and, whilst she'd been fairly independent for the rest of the walk, she'd given in to the support from both men for the final part. Grey frowned at the blood on her face as he put his hand out and tilted her head up to see better.

Annabel shook her head, wincing slightly at the movement.

"Grey, I'm fine, okay. Bit of headache." She stepped away slightly from Callen as she spoke.

"You need that head cleaned up," Grey said, looking carefully at the cut.

"I-"

"He's right, come on. I'll take care of it," Callen interrupted her protest as he reached for her hand. "Which way to the bathroom?" he asked looked around at the rest of his team, relieved when he saw they were all fine. Kensi tilted her head with a smile, indicating the right direction. Callen steered Annabel that way, pleased she didn't pull away from his hold.

"You know I can do this myself," Annabel said once they were in the small bathroom and he had her sitting on the chair in there.

"I know," Callen replied as he searched the cupboards for supplies.

"So-"

"Because I want to," Callen answered before she could ask the question.

He turned back to catch her small smile at his answer.

"You keep taking care of me, when it's supposed to be the other way around," Annabel replied. The shoulder, sleeping in the woods, her foot, Zoe, now this. Somehow things had gotten rather twisted regarding which one of them was the protector.

"Stop getting hurt and I won't have to." Callen put some water on some cotton wool and started to gently clean up her face. She winced when he got close to the cut. "Sorry."

Face and cut cleaned, he focused on the hair, gently easing the blood out of it with some water.

"That's not necessary you know," Annabel said at his actions.

"Yes it is," Callen replied as he continued.

"You just want your bodyguard to be pretty," she teased.

Callen turned her face to him and looked at her carefully as he spoke. "No. I don't like being reminded that you are hurt because of me."

Annabel smiled gently, her tone reassuring. "Not because of you. To protect you. None of this is your fault."

"It was my driving that caused this." Callen went back to the job at hand.

How could he think this was his fault? He couldn't have known what the van was going to do, or how hard it would hit. Annabel shook her head, gently this time. "No. It was your driving that kept us alive."

Having finished cleaning her up, Callen got out the antiseptic and looked back at her. "This is going to hurt."

"Can't hurt more than you fixing my shoulder," Annabel replied lightly. She only winced slightly when he touched the cut with the liquid.

"All done," Callen added. "Looks like it's stopped bleeding."

"Good," Annabel replied, as she stood up, swaying a little. Callen's arms went round her quickly.

"Hey, not so fast all right. Take it easy for a little bit."

Annabel closed her eyes for a moment and nodded slowly. "Sounds like a good idea." She opened her eyes and smiled. "I'm okay now. Thank you."

Callen slowly let her go and, when she stayed steady, Annabel went and joined the others, whilst he cleaned up the mess. He stood there for a moment, looking at the bloodied cotton balls and water in the sink, wondering about this woman who kept putting herself out there to protect him. She'd said some people were worth dying for even if you didn't know them. As much he wanted to be the kind of man good enough to deserve that, he wasn't sure if he wanted to be if it meant her getting hurt. Shaking off the thoughts of more happening to her, he cleaned up quickly and went back to the others. They had another plan to work out, the fourth in three days.


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N - Well, okay. So apologies for leaving Eric and Abby floundering in the middle of nowhere. Hopefully this chapter will bring us up to speed on what they are doing. Maybe answer a few questions, maybe make a few questions._

_Hope you enjoy.  
_

_Love the support I'm getting on this story. Thanks so much to all my reviewers and alerters. _

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_._

**Chapter 19 **

Abby's computer beeped at Eric. He lifted his chin off his chest, pulled his glasses off and rubbed his eyes, before putting them back on again. He glanced behind him, out the door to the living room, to see Abby lying on her couch, obviously asleep. They'd been working this for well over a day. He glanced at the clock, okay maybe closer to two and they weren't getting very far before the brick walls and dead ends kept kicking in.

Eric turned back to the computer just as it beeped at him again.

"All right, I'm coming. Gee, give a guy a chance to wake up," Eric mumbled at the computer, half expecting to hear it respond.

Looking at the first search results, he groaned. That wasn't what he wanted to know. Another dead end.

He checked the next and, after shaking himself out of the shock, he looked again.

"Abby!" he yelled. "I think I've got something."

Abby, unlike Eric, managed to get up off the couch without falling.

"What?" she asked, sleepily as she stepped through the door.

Eric turned to look at her and smiled. "Might have found Kensi."

Abby brightened up. "Show me."

Eric showed her the video footage and as it played, they both gasped in horror as the possible Kensi and the man she was with, were shot at before they scrambled into a dark coloured vehicle and drove off.

"Eric, are you sure that's Kensi?"

Eric shook his head. "No, but it's the closest we've got at the moment. It matches a rough description but there's not a clear enough picture to get a positive I.D."

"What about the guy she's with?"

Eric taped away at the keys, "Fingers crossed we get something on him."

"Where did they go?"

"I really need a better computer. Sorry, Abby. It's just that the way we are doing this is kind of..."

"Slow, useless, not enough oomph, compared to MTAC," Abby finished for him. "Especially since we can't use the full resources or whoever is working in my lab with know something's up." She had access to her lab computers and resources but running things hidden in the background meant that it was taking so much longer to process the information.

"Yeah. This would be so much quicker if we could use it all."

Abby threw up her hands in annoyance.

"I'm going to call Gibbs," she decided. "This is crazy. We have four agents out there we are trying to find, whilst trying not to be found out ourselves."

She picked up the phone just as there was a knock on her door.

"Or perhaps I'll just let him in," Abby grinned, putting the phone down and walking to the door.

"Gibbs," Abby smiled. "Just in time. And you brought lunch and Caf-Pow! You are my hero."

Gibbs walked through the door, handing her the drink and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Got anything?" he asked as he set the pizzas down on the table.

"Maybe, but you knew that or you wouldn't be here. Come on, Eric. Food's getting cold," Abby called out as she sat down and reached for a slice of pizza.

Eric came out and joined them.

"So what do you two have?"

Abby pointed to Eric to take that question.

"We know that it is highly likely that the emails between McGee and Vance were planted and probably not real, since there were some that shouldn't have had a particular time stamp on them because the servers were down. We can't get into McGee's computer to confirm that the hack wasn't from his computer. So, at the moment, they are still suspects."

Eric took a small bite of the pizza before continuing, Abby having shaken her head at Gibbs to stop him interrupting. Eric needed the time to give all the information before the questions started.

"We found where the email with Kensi and Callen's files went. Unfortunately, it doesn't really help. It was to Keelson."

"You mean the guy Callen killed three weeks ago?" Gibbs asked, unable to hold back.

"The one and only."

"But that doesn't make sense. Why would they send the files to someone who was already dead?"

Abby finished her mouthful. "Perhaps it was to confuse us. Give us a dead end where we couldn't follow."

Eric frowned for a moment, and then his face brightened. "Except it's not. Think about it. If they knew Keelson, who we didn't know about until he came after Callen, and there was only one photo of the guy out there, maybe they are the ones he was referring to. They wouldn't know what Keelson told Callen."

"Details Eric. What are you talking about?" Gibbs asked, getting annoyed.

"Gibbs," Abby warned. "Give him time. He's not me."

"Thank goodness. One of you is enough, Abs," Gibbs said fondly.

"Okay, they knew about Keelson. But Keelson told Callen that it was bigger than just his name or his family. What if those bigger fish are the ones after Callen? Keelson had a box of information on him, two boxes on Hetty."

"Now why doesn't that surprise me about Hetty," Gibbs commented.

"What we didn't find out was why? But most likely he was getting it for someone else. We don't know who though. Keelson's data storage unit went up in flames before they could get anything more than Amy's file."

"Any other good news, Eric?" Gibbs asked sounding obviously frustrated at how little they had.

"Whilst we still don't know where the team have disappeared to, we had a possible hit on Kensi," Eric said.

Abby snorted, narrowly avoiding her Caf-Pow! going up her nose in the process. Eric and Gibbs looking at her oddly.

"Sorry. The pun. Hit on Kensi."

Gibbs looked at Eric now.

Eric swallowed nervously at the look, and quickly explained. "Just before you got here, we got a hit on a possible sighting of Kensi. Not enough for a positive I.D, but she looks like her. Unfortunately she was being shot at, at the time."

"Show me," Gibbs ordered as he stood up.

Eric hurried over to the computer and showed him.

"At least she got away. Who's the guy?"

"We're running it now but-"

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. They frowned at each other as Abby went to get it. She looked through the peep hole and turned around, a horrified look on her face.

"Vance," she mouthed.

"Miss Sciuto, open up. I know Agent Gibbs and Mr Beale are there with you," Vance's voice came through the door.

Gibbs turned to Eric. "Why are you here?" he asked.

"Abby invited me, holiday?" Eric answered, having a feeling that Gibbs wasn't asking for the truth.

"We'll make a field agent out of you yet." Gibbs replied. "Now sit and eat." They both sat down, grabbing their pizza as Gibbs glanced over to Abby and nodded.

Abby opened the door, and smiled slightly.

"Leon. What can I do for you?" she asked.

"Let me in, Miss Sciuto," Vance ordered firmly.

Abby stepped back and Vance walked past her into the room. She closed it with a silent sigh. Somehow she had a feeling this was going to be bad.

"Leon," Gibbs greeted him.

Vance ignored Gibbs, focusing on the L.A team member who, in theory, was missing.

"Mr Beale, aren't you supposed to be on a team building exercise with the rest of your L.A team?"

"Nope. Here on holiday," Eric said, briefly glancing over to Gibbs as he did.

Vance turned to Gibbs. "Care to fill me in on what you are doing here in the middle of the day, Gibbs?"

"Abby wanted me to question Eric on his intentions," Gibbs replied smoothly.

Eric almost choking on his food didn't help the lie. Vance and Gibbs both looked at him. Gibbs shaking his head slightly, mentally retracting his previous field agent comment. Vance turned back to Gibbs.

"Enough Gibbs, I know why you're here."

Gibbs raised his eyebrows.

"Callen," Vance added.

"What about him?" Gibbs asked innocently.

"Enough with the bull, Gibbs. We need to find him. You need to tell me what you know."

"Don't know-" Gibbs started.

"I said enough!"

Gibbs shut up. He hadn't heard that tone from Leon … ever.

Vance lent back against the wall. Gibbs noticed he looked more stressed than normal.

"If you won't start," Vance said, "I will. But this goes no further than this room and those in it. If you can't handle that, leave now."

Abby, Eric and Gibbs were all confused, but agreed when Vance looked at each of them, waiting for an answer.

Vance pulled out a file from his briefcase and threw it on the table.

"This is what I know at the moment."

Gibbs reached for it first. "How about you start talking as well?"

"Fine. Eight months ago, an old friend, a mentor, died. Just a heart attack in an old man. Except his wife died too, same day. Same deal. Odd yes, but there was nothing to suggest anything sinister. I went to organise the funerals and when I got home, there was a package waiting for me."

"What kind of package?" Gibbs asked, as he flipped through the documents roughly, to see if anything jumped out at him, before he really focused on it..

"Information. It's all in there," Vance replied as he pointed to the file. "There is more out there, but I can't get to it yet."

"Why not?" Gibbs asked.

"Unless I can provide proof that they were murdered, I can't access it. It is stored in a secure facility, in Switzerland, that has strict orders on access."

"What kind of security? Could we break in?" Abby asked, an excited tone. Gibbs rolled his eyes at her enthusiasm for something she wouldn't even be involved in.

"No." Vance shook his head and finally sat down at the table with them. "I have no idea where in the facility the information is and can only get in with a fingerprint and retina scan of both myself and the head of the facility."

Abby raised her eyebrows. That was some security. "Were they murdered?"

"Nothing was suspected. The autopsy came back clear. I didn't pursue it. Didn't have a reason to."

Gibbs started to read. "The Twelve?" he questioned.

Vance nodded. "Apparently The Twelve were a secret government organisation. Potentially deeper than black ops. There is no official record of them, their orders or any reference to them."

"What do you mean?" Gibbs asked, looking up from the papers.

"According to this," Vance gestured to the papers Gibbs was going through, "they did missions, left no trace at all. Nobody knew they'd even been where they were. Except for their last mission. They lost four members, a small amount of information was leaked and the company was disbanded. The surviving members were split up, moved into other government agencies and watched. Apparently there were, and are, people in places of authority that know about them, watch over them and protect them from any repercussions from their operations. It was also part of the deal that if they let anything happen to any of those remaining, that they could have prevented, then details would be released. That was supposed to protect those of The Twelve from being hunted down by the government. I trust my friend and what I believe now is, that if what they did gets out, the stability we have in the government or even further afield, could come crashing down."

Gibbs raised his eyebrows. "Deeper than black ops? How is that possible?"

"I don't know. That's just how they explained it to me in the note there. Maybe it was because of when they were active. Maybe then black ops weren't as big as what they did. I'm not sure."

Gibbs turned back to the information in front of him.

"Why did they send it to you?" Abby asked. "Who were they? Your mentor? His wife?"

Vance looked at Abby. "They were part of The Twelve." Abby's eyes went wide. Vance continued. "I never suspected they were anything more than the military lawyer and housewife that they claimed to be."

"What's this got to do with Callen? He wasn't one of them, was he?" asked Eric.

"No. This was around forty to fifty years ago."

"That's a long time." Abby said.

"Callen," Gibbs prompted. Vance turned back to him.

"Two days ago, just after Nate called to tell me the L.A team were missing, I received another letter." Vance reached over and pulled out a smaller envelope and handed it to Gibbs. "There."

Gibbs opened it. He glanced over the note and then read it out loud for the rest.

'If anything happens to Callen related to The Twelve or their operations, the information regarding what we did will be released into the public domain. This was the agreement if they failed in their promise to keep him safe, keep all of us safe. I believe they failed with Corine and Jeremiah. This is tame, very tame, compared to the rest. Protect him.'

"Someone gave you details of a mission?" Gibbs asked.

"Who's they?" Abby asked at the same time.

Vance turned to answer Abby first. "I'm assuming it is the ones who are supposed to be watching and protecting." He turned back to Gibbs. "Yes." He reached for the file and pulled out another piece of paper and some photos before he continued.

"In 1967 there was an election. It was a one horse race. Kyle Partridge was a shoe in. The other candidate had barely any support, though there was nothing wrong with him or his plans. Two days before the election, Partridge was on a flight from Colorado to Alabama, making his final attempts at those two states, where he didn't have a lot of support. He was apparently very determined to utterly annihilate the competition. On the flight, Kyle Partridge died. The official autopsy said it was a stroke."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Was it?"

Vance shook his head. "Not according to this information. It claims that he was assassinated. That one of them was on that flight."

"You believe it?" Gibbs asked.

"At first I didn't. But I thought it best to have McGee look into it. Managed to get promotional photos and names of those that were on board the flight. Everyone but this man checks out." Vance pointed to the man he was referring to in the photo. "He is listed as Trent Baxter, journalist for the New York Times."

"Let me guess, no Trent Baxter ever worked for the New York Times," Abby concluded.

Vance looked at her. "Oh no, there are records that suggest he did, for a number of years, in fact." Vance lent back in his chair, his gaze taking in all of them. "Trent Baxter's family history can be traced back four generations. Not just the direct line back, but offshoots and other branches of his family tree exist up and down for those four generations."

"So?" Abby asked, confused.

"Five generations on the other hand, none of them exist," Vance added. Abby looked intrigued.

"Computer archives didn't catch up that far back until about fifteen years ago," Eric said, doing a rough calculation in his head that would put it that fifth generation at well over a hundred years ago.

"So, someone built a pretty good history for him," Abby concluded.

"Yes," Vance replied.

Gibbs turned to Vance, a frown on his face. "How could he have just slipped onto that flight? I thought that security on presidential campaigns was usually pretty tight. Not as tight as now, but still."

Vance nodded his agreement.

"According to what McGee found out, Trent Baxter had been a part of the press team for that final stage of the campaign where Partridge was wooing the voters. He'd been traveling with them for two months."

"So if they did it, it wasn't a rushed job," Gibbs concluded.

"No. It appears to have been well thought out and planned," Vance answered. "If Baxter had just been on that last flight and there had been any suspicions, he would have been the first one to be checked out. They covered their bases well."

Eric was looking closely at the photo.

"So you believe whoever threatened you?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm inclined to," Vance agreed. "Can you imagine if this is real? The information also says that Partridge was connected to the Russians who had plans to take over once Partridge was in power."

A shudder went through Abby. "So if it was true, then they did a good thing?" she asked.

"Yes," Vance agreed.

"Why didn't you tell me this? When you took McGee?" Gibbs asked. If they'd known all this back then, they could have done things differently.

"What could I tell you? I didn't even tell McGee what he was looking for except to try and find the L.A. team and then to check up on these people. I had no proof either way that Hetty hadn't done exactly what she said she had. I haven't told McGee about The Twelve yet, though I have a feeling that is coming. Besides, you didn't tell me either," Vance reminded him.

"Guys," Eric interrupted.

"What Eric?" Abby asked. Eric was still studying the photo.

"Can you see it, Abby? He looks like Callen. It's black and white, but, he looks like Callen. Or at least if Callen had longer hair and was a bit younger then he would."

Gibbs held his hand out for the photo and Eric handed it to him. He looked at it for a moment, then at Abby. "Can you do something with this, Abs?"

"Sure." Abby took the photo and went to her computer, scanned it and brought it up. Vance, Gibbs and Eric followed her over and waited patiently.

"I can clear it up a little, give him a hair cut, blow it up and voila … Oh, my God. Eric, you're right. It's Callen. Well, not Callen but ... " Abby turned to Gibbs, her eyes wide. "Do you think that could be Callen's dad?"

Gibbs turned to Vance, giving him a Gibbs look that told Vance he'd better not be holding anything more back. "Leon? You know anything more?"

"I've given you everything I have. It may have been his father, the age would be right."

"Could he be the one that sent you that note?" Abby asked.

"He's dead, Abby," Gibbs replied.

Eric looked at them, a slightly nervous expression on his face that Gibbs picked up on.

"Eric?" Gibbs asked.

"Umm, he may not be," Eric admitted

Gibbs raised his eyebrows and gave Eric a rather intimidating look.

Eric almost stumbled over his next words. "I don't know exactly what happened, but Callen went to Amy's grave and there was a note. It was written from a parent, but Hannah was an orphan. Callen thinks it might be from one of his."

There was complete silence for a moment as they took all of this in. Vance was the first to speak.

"Assuming we are wrong about his death and that Baxter is Callen's father, I'd have to say then, that it's possible. If that is the case, it means that the threat is very real if something happens to Callen. If it was sent by his father, then this is personal. I doubt it we could convince him not to release that information."

"Could we find him? How did they send it to you?" Abby asked.

"It was dropped in at Reception, by a courier service. We haven't been able to track down the courier. The company doesn't have anyone on record as delivering anything to us. As for finding him, probably not," Vance answered. "Even with the information Hetty forwarded from the Keelson file, McGee can't find anything unusual, except for the issues with Callen's sister. His family history can be traced back completely. His parent's died when he was five, grandparents died eight years previous. It checks out completely up and down the tree. Right back into the early 1800's, which was when I told McGee to stop searching."

Gibbs looked at him suspiciously wondering why he had checked Callen out so thoroughly.

"I had McGee check. The threat was specifically if something happened to Callen. It made me wonder if there might be someone out there. But from what we found, there is no one. Callen is the last of his family."

Vance noticed the glance that went between Eric and Gibbs.

"I've told you mine. Your turn Gibbs," Vance ordered.

Gibbs nodded to Eric, "You know the details better than anyone Eric. How about you wrap it up for the Director?"

"Okay. Well, the other morning, I was," Eric cleared his throat, "checking some things out." Vance's eyebrows raised at the evasiveness of the statement from Eric but he didn't say anything, as Eric continued. "I came across something bad. Called Hetty and she sent me here to Abby and Gibbs to try and sort it out. She just told me she'd take care of them. I don't know where they are."

"What did you find, Eric?" Vance asked, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice.

"That you and McGee were conspiring to have Callen and Kensi kidnapped and sent their complete files, personal and missions, to someone outside of NCIS."

"What?" Vance exclaimed.

"NCIS was compromised," Eric shrugged. "We didn't know who we could trust. I trusted Abby. We knew Callen trusted Gibbs. Sorry." Though Eric didn't sound repentant at all. He'd done what he had thought was right, followed Hetty's orders.

"All right," Vance said. "I assure you I am not plotting any harm to Agents Callen or Blye."

"But everything we have so far, points to you and McGee," Abby added. "McGee's home computer was used to hack in and plant emails between the two of you."

"What do you need to prove McGee isn't involved?" Vance asked Abby.

"Access to his home computer would be a starting point," Abby said.

"Gibbs, take Abby. You have my permission to break in and confiscate all of McGee's computer equipment that you need. We sort this out now. Either clear McGee or charge him. We need to find them and fast. They've been off grid for too long."

Vance turned to Eric. "Bring everything you've got. MTAC awaits."

Abby and Gibbs headed straight to McGee's whilst Eric hurried to get his computer sorted.

Vance pulled out his phone. "This is Vance. I need you to get McGee to my office. He is not to be left alone …. No, I will tell him what it is about when I get there. Thank you."

Vance hung up, scooped up the paperwork that was spread out over the table and put it back in his briefcase. He turned to Eric.

"Are you ready yet, Eric?"

Eric turned around, rather nervously. "Yes, Sir." His computer tucked under his arm, he followed Vance out the door. At least their access to resources was about to pick up.


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N - Additional note for last chapter - entirely fictional presidential campaign! Don't want to get in trouble for suggestion anything was wrong with anything. ;-)_

_* tattoo - Whilst I have read that Seals don't necessarily have tattoos saying they are Seals or have been one, for the purpose of this story, there is a tattoo that signifies one is an ex-Seal._

_Thanks so much for all the reviews, this story is now my most reviewed! And there were so many for the last chapter, it's really helping me keep up the editing which is getting a little bit rough with all the plot twists and turns, trying to make sure everything is where it is supposed to be. So thanks so much for the encouragement and support._

_As much as I would love to be able to tell you that I'm getting close to daily updates, I'm not. But I can promise, just as soon as the editing has finished on each chapter I will get it up._

_So, now back to our runaways._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

**Chapter 20**

_Back at the Cabin_

Half an hour later, the door creaked open. Six of the seven occupants of the cabin reacted quickly, had their guns drawn and aimed before it was fully opened. Annabel remained seated. She had made an attempt to get up except Callen had placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her moving quickly.

"Who are you?" demanded Sam, as a solidly built man stepped through the door, a shocked expression on his face as he glanced around to find so many people pointing guns at him.

"Considering you are in my cabin, how about you answer that question," the man replied calmly.

Hetty stepped forward. "No-one important, except that we need help. We're not here to hurt you." When the man showed no sign of hostility, Hetty took another step, only to have Sam stop her.

"Wait. Let me," Sam replied as he lowered his gun and signaled for everyone else to do the same. He stepped slowly over to the man, pulling up his sleeve as he went, revealing a tattoo*. "I see you're an ex-Seal too."

The man nodded. Sam held out his hand and the man accepted the friendly greeting.

"I'm Sam. My friends," Sam tilted his head in the general direction of Callen and Kensi, "are in trouble. We're just trying to keep them safe."

The man looked around the room and then back to Sam. "That's a lot of friends."

By this point, Annabel had stood up and turned to face them. "We're not all in trouble. Most us are here to protect," she said, her accent heavy, as the tiredness took it's toll on little things she usually took for granted, such as being able to blend in with those around her.

The man looked at Annabel and Callen noticed a flickering of concern in the man's eyes. "You look like you could do with a little protection yourself, love. You're not from around here, are you?" he asked Annabel.

Annabel shook her head slightly, "No. England. Hope that's not a problem."

The man smiled gently at her. "No problem at all. My wife is too. I'm Steve."

Steve glanced back at Sam. "Always happy to help a fellow Seal, ex or not. What can I do?"

A sigh of relief went through the entire team and, as Sam, Grey and Sasha spoke to Steve about what they needed, Hetty asked for the computer.

"What do you need it for Hetty?" Callen asked, curious.

"To send Eric a message. Let him know about Mitch. It might help his and Abby's investigation. Give them a direction outside of NCIS to pursue."

Kensi sat down next to Hetty and handed her the computer. "How are you going to do that?" she asked.

Hetty smiled knowingly and looked at Kensi, a hint of mischief in her eyes. "Would you care to see?"

Kensi grinned back. "Of course. Secretive communication. What girl wouldn't want to?"

Callen smiled and Annabel laughed softly. "Be careful what you wish for Kensi. You may not really want to know what Hetty's up to," Annabel added.

"Annabel!" Hetty admonished gently.

"What? I've seen some of your secretive ways to communicate, Hetty. Kensi might actually want to close her eyes."

"Not for this one," Hetty advised.

Callen looked at Annabel curiously. Annabel shook her head. "Sorry Callen. I'm not going there with you."

Hetty started typing and Kensi watched. Callen glanced between his team mates and Annabel, his gaze returning more often to his injured bodyguard, keeping an eye on her for any sign of things going wrong with the head injury. But aside from the cut and the bruise that was surrounding it, she seemed fine. She wasn't falling asleep, looking any paler or showing signs of being dizzy. She was holding her head up just fine.

Kensi started to laugh and he turned back to look at her

"Sorry," Kensi said with a grin. "That is ... so not you, Hetty."

"Thank you, my dear. Eric and I thought so."

"What?" Callen asked.

Kensi looked at Hetty for approval. Hetty nodded.

"It's a pet forum. She's left this message for Eric under 'Unusual things my pet does'."

'I am sure my British short-hair, Mitch, was a bad spy in a former life. When a Bond movie is on, he sits with me and watches it, hissing at anything MI6 related and purring when the bad guys come in. He walks off in a huff when Bond saves the day. My other cat, Bel, was definitely a good spy. She knows exactly who to hiss at.'

Annabel laughed lightly. "At least it's G rated this time."

Hetty turned her somewhat serious gaze on Annabel, who just smiled in return.

"How is Eric supposed to know what that means, Hetty?" Callen asked. He could understand the phrasing, it was extremely lacking in Hetty flair, so nobody reading it would make a connection with her.

"He just needs a few pointers. British, Mitch, bad spy, MI6, Bel, good spy. Eric should take those words from the message. I've previously given him an emergency contact for Graham at MI6. This should lead Eric to calling him. Graham will understand that I've sent Eric to him and then they can work together on it."

"I hope Eric is as smart as you think," Callen added.

"He is. We've sent messages before like this for practice, though we had hoped it would never be needed in reality."

Sam, Grey, Sasha and Steve stepped over to them.

"All set," Sam added when Callen glanced up at him. "Steve has a van, it will take us all."

"How long before we can leave?" Annabel asked, standing up carefully.

"It's outside now. I came in it, was going to take a few things from here home with me, but I can do that another time," Steve replied.

"Steve is going to take the car," Sam said. Annabel started to shake her head. "It's okay Annabel," Sam assured her, "He only has to drive five minutes and he'll do it later tonight, when it's dark, with no license plates on it. He'll call the owners and let them know what happened to their cars, take care of all of that for us."

"Are you sure? If Mitch-" Annabel started to protest, looking at Steve concerned. Ex-Seal or not, he was just an innocent passer-by that she didn't want involved.

"I'll be fine, love," Steven assured her. "You worry about yourself and your friends."

Loaded up in the van, Kensi and Sam in the front, the rest spread out comfortably in the back. They had some supplies of water and snacks that Steve had in the cabin. They bid Steve thanks and goodbye, and started back down the lane. Kensi was silently wishing for the other car that had more power and better handling.

"Where are we going this time?" Kensi asked as she turned onto the highway, following the simple directions Annabel had previously given her.

"An old friend," Annabel replied.

"Do you trust this friend?" Callen asked, looking at her.

Annabel nodded and a soft look came onto her face. "More than I trust myself," she added as she settled back in the seat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

After about three hours of driving, Kensi and Sam swapped places.

"Sam," Annabel said,"Stay on this route until Lachlan Bridge and then I'll drive."

Callen looked at her and frowned, not liking the idea of her behind the wheel.

"Got it," replied Sam, though Callen noticed Sam glance at him, concerned, through the rear view mirror.

"What's at Lachlan Bridge?" Callen asked. She looked over at him.

"Nothing, but I know the way from there," Annabel said.

"To where?" Callen asked.

"To somewhere that should be safe."

Safe? It didn't feel like they had been safe anywhere recently.

"Are you sure?" Callen asked. He saw a brief glimpse of sadness flicker across her face.

"It's about the only thing I'm sure of right now," Annabel admitted before closing her eyes and putting her head back against the seat, trying desperately to not let the tears fall. She was tired, but she couldn't sleep yet. So much had happened she couldn't quite believe it hadn't even been a day since she had that unsettled feeling that they were being followed. She still didn't have her emotions under control after this morning and that wasn't a good sign. She felt someone reach out and wipe away a tear that had fallen. She was surprised that she recognised the touch. Callen. She couldn't help it. She opened her eyes and looked at him. He was watching her so intently, like he was trying to read her. She had a feeling he wasn't having much luck from the confusion on his face.

"I'm not a book, Callen. It takes more than a glance to figure me out."

"I knew that a long time ago," Callen agreed softly. It did feel like a long time, yet it wasn't even three days ago that he'd first met her in the bar. Annabel smiled slightly at him then closed her eyes again.

Callen continued to watch her, wondering just what was going on with her, with them, with everything. There were so many unanswered questions. Who was after them? Was it Mitch? Was he working for someone else? What did they want him for? Was she interested in him?

Callen was tempted to beg Hetty to be able to stop running and fight, but she had done this for a reason. He had a feeling Hetty knew more than she was letting on. Or at least she suspected more. She still hadn't revealed who at NCIS had compromised them. Whilst it bugged him a little, he could understand her reasons. If it turned out not to be true, the suspicion would already be planted and it could take some time to let it go and trust whoever it was again. There was something about the way Mitch was able to find them, especially after Annabel had gotten rid of the necklace. He glanced down at her again, her features more relaxed than he'd seen in a while, her breathing steady and even. Looked like she'd fallen asleep. He frowned. Why had Hetty felt the need to pull her into this? Why did she feel it necessary to give him a bodyguard that she knew was willing to give up her life for someone she didn't know? Callen glanced back at his boss. Hetty raised her eyebrows in question.

"You're still hiding something from me, Hetty," Callen said quietly, hoping not to wake Annabel.

"Not exactly," Hetty shook her head, her voice low as well. "I'm not hiding it from you. I'm just not telling you yet. I don't have any proof of my suspicions, Mr Callen. Until I am positive that they have something to do with this, it is not something for you to know."

"That's splitting hairs, Hetty. Holding back or hiding. Same thing. What do you think I am going to do if I know?"

"Hunt them down yourself," Annabel answered as she moved next to him, their conversation having woken her from the light sleep she had drifted into. She sat up, blinking and took a deep breath, trying to pull herself further awake. She couldn't sleep yet, not until they were somewhere safe.

Callen looked at her. "How do you know that?" She was pretty close. He hated running and hiding. He preferred to be more proactive and go after them, though he knew running and hiding had it's place, but right now, he was doubting that either was working.

"I trust Hetty and that is what she told me," she answered.

Callen raised his eyebrows and his eyes darted between Hetty and Annabel. Annabel smiled.

"Callen, nothing Hetty told me about you was bad. She said you were determined, capable, excelled at your job, but when it came down to someone coming after you, you preferred to go after them."

Callen turned to Hetty and grinned, "Excel at my job? You told her that?"

"Not exactly those words," Hetty remarked, holding back a smile. "Annabel has interpreted what I told her as she saw fit and came to that conclusion on her own."

Callen turned back to Annabel. "I don't like running, especially when I don't know what from."

"Neither do I," she assured him, "but Hetty feels it is best to keep you two out of this investigation and away from those who are after you."

"Do you know?" he asked Annabel.

"I know that you need to be protected and hidden from whoever they are, at all costs. That's all Hetty needed to tell me. And until she tells me otherwise, we'll be running and hiding as best we can."

Callen turned back to Hetty. "Any chance that order is going to change anytime soon?"

"I promise that I will change it as soon as it becomes clear that it needs to be changed."

Sam chuckled from the front. "That's worse than 'I'll see you when I see you'. No information there at all, Hetty."

"Indeed, Mr Hanna. How are you doing up there? The vehicle to your usual standards?"

Callen waited patiently. Hetty had effectively moved the conversation on, but as soon as it was done, he would continue his questions. Suspicions unproven or otherwise, it was time for him to know everything.

"Nothing beats the suped up Challenger," Sam replied, referring to the one-off upgrades Hetty had made to his car for a previous mission. "Pity we couldn't have brought that. We're going to need some fuel and maybe some food soon. Any ideas?" Sam asked.

"We could check the computer, see what's nearby. We have non-traceable cards so if we can get something where we just pay at the pump that would be best," Sasha suggested. Kensi had the computer up front with her and Sam, so pulled it out and started looking. Callen made the most of the opportunity Kensi's searching gave him.

"Hetty. It's time. Tell me what you think. Whether you think it is important or not, proven or suspicion. It's time for us to know what we may be up against."

"Mr Callen," Hetty started, ready to stall again.

"Hetty," Grey interrupted. Hetty turned to him. "I think you should," Grey continued.

"You know?" Callen asked and then glanced at Annabel. "You too?"

Annabel shook her head. "No. I've told you what I know." Callen believed her. It helped that she held his gaze whilst answering. She didn't look away, there were no other signs she was lying.

"I was told more," Grey added. Callen turned to face him as he continued. "It's the way Bel and I work. One of us in charge, focused on the mission. If there are any other possible complications, the other knows what else to look for,even if it is probably unlikely to happen. Allows us both to focus solely on what we need. Works for us. Doesn't seem to work for other teams though."

Another reminder to Callen just how close Annabel and Grey were. He tried not to think about it and returned his mind to the task at hand. getting information out of Hetty.

"So, what is it Hetty?" Callen prompted.

Hetty sighed. "Not here, Mr Callen. When we get to where we are going, you and I will talk. The two of us. Then you can decide if you want the rest to know."

That sounded ominous.

"Is it that bad?" Callen asked.

"No," Hetty shook her head, "but it is personal."

Callen held Hetty's gaze. The urge to ask more now was strong, but he knew his boss well enough. She had just met him half way and he knew if he pushed it, she could very well change her mind and back right off. "All right, Hetty. I'll hold you to that," he agreed.

"There's a gas station about ten miles ahead," Kensi interrupted. "What if this guy is looking for us? Would he be checking cameras?"

"Miss Blye has a good point." Hetty thought for a moment as she looked around those who were with her, before speaking again. "Annabel should be the one to go."

"But he knows me. Well," Annabel protested, as she turned in her seat to look at Hetty.

"Yes," Hetty agreed. "But it is also likely that he will have recent photos of everyone on this expedition. You, Annabel, are the one here who can change looks easily with the limited supplies we have. You don't have any distinctive traits like the others."

Hetty was right. Kensi's eye, Sam's build, Sasha's small stature and red hair, not to mention Hetty's unique appearance, She, was in a way, the plainest looking one there. Callen and Kensi were both out anyway, because she wouldn't allow either of them out without someone else.

"Hetty has a point," Grey added.

"You could do it," Annabel said to Grey. Not that she had a problem doing it, but Grey was more alert than she was right now.

"He'll know to search for the scar," Grey said. It was pale, but it was there if you were looking, especially if it was one of the parameters in computer search.

"Fine," Annabel agreed. "I'll just try and avoid the cameras. Can we all last about three hours for decent food?"

"We can last," Callen assured her, after a quick glance around at everyone who nodded their agreement.

Sam drove past the gas station and as they did, they checked for cameras. From their quick surveillance, they only noted two.

"Pay at the pump and keep my face turned away," Annabel said. "Should be easier than getting Callen out of the bar," she joked with a wink at him. Callen smiled back.

"Bel," Grey's concerned voice came from behind. She turned and looked at him. "Just enough to get us where we need to go, okay," he said.

"Of course. I have done this before," Annabel replied, rolling her eyes at him and turning back around, just as Sam pulled up on the side of the road. They swapped, everyone up back and only Annabel visible in the drivers seat.

"What have we got back there for me to look different with?"

Kensi pulled the clip out of her hair and handed it to Callen. He slipped off his jacket.

"Put your hair up, my jacket on and a pair of sunglasses if you can find any up there," he said. "You should look different enough," Callen finished, handing her the jacket and the clip. She slipped them on.

"Are you sure you're okay to drive?" Callen asked as she did up her seat belt carefully.

"I'm sure. It's not far," Annabel assured him as she pulled the van back out onto the road. She drove back to the gas station and pulled in, checking the camera placement again as they did. Not as good as they had hoped.

"Great," she moaned.

"Camera's everywhere," Callen remarked softly from just behind her. He'd moved forward to get a better view out the front as they drove in. There were at least five, not just the two obvious ones.

"Well, this will be interesting," Annabel replied.

"I'll see if I can get into their system," Kensi said, clicking away on the computer, hoping that something remotely resembling Eric or Dom's talent had rubbed off enough for her to be successful.

"Good luck," Callen said.

Annabel turned and looked at him, one side of her mouth tilted up in a somewhat cheeky smile.

"I don't think this will be quite enough," Annabel had a twinkle in her eye. Finally something fun again. Something that didn't entirely revolve around running and hiding. She pulled her mind off the fun moments she'd had with Callen so far and back to the task at hand.

"Bel, what are you up to?" Grey asked. His question a warning and his tone concerned. Given everything that had happened to her so far, Annabel couldn't really blame him for feeling that way.

Annabel grinned at her brother and then turned her tone innocent. "Just going to make sure they don't look too closely at my face. Don't want Mitch sending out pictures to the attendants and have them recognise me, do we?" She slipped off the jacket, her shirt followed quickly and she tossed it at Callen. She put his jacket back on, only doing it up about half way, leaving an tempting amount of cleavage and lace showing. She re-did her hair, this time leaving more strands falling around her face, and looked around for any glasses. No luck on that front.

Annabel turned back and winked at Callen, who was still holding her shirt. "Wish me luck." She quickly turned back to the front.

"Good luck," Callen replied, for a second time, somewhat absently. His jacket looked so much better on her right now. He also wondered what had changed. She seemed to really enjoy what she was doing right now, which was something he hadn't seen since things had started to go wrong on the plane. Things had been a little tense since then.

"Be careful and be quick Bel," Grey advised.

"Always," Annabel replied brightly, as she stepped out of the van.

"Kenz," Callen pulled himself away from thoughts of Annabel and his jacket, and turned to look at his team mate as he asked, "Any chance you can do something with the cameras?" he asked then focused out the window watching carefully for anything suspicious. He heard Kensi hitting the keys, reminding him of Eric. He hoped their young techie had managed to get to Abby all right.

Kensi groaned slightly in frustration. "Nope, can't see them even though I'm in," she replied. "Honestly, I don't think they're real."

"Let's hope you're right," Callen said.

They all watched and waited, willing the fuel to pump faster. Callen and Grey noticed, at the same time, that one of the attendants was coming out of the shop and heading straight for Annabel, an eager smile on the young man's face.

"She's attracted attention," Grey warned. "Won't be good if that attendant gets too close."

Callen was out of the van before Grey had finished, ignoring Hetty's call to stay put. He carefully avoided the cameras with his face, just in case Kensi was wrong. The attendant had most likely figured Annabel was on her own, so might need help. That, or being interested in what he saw and hoping today might be his lucky day. Callen really couldn't blame him for likely what he saw, but he was about to make the poor young man's day go downhill rapidly, as he slipped around the van and pushed Annabel back against it and held her there with his body, as one of his hands went to the back of her neck. She looked up at him, slightly shocked. The attendant was close enough to hear them.

"You were gone too long. Missed you," Callen said before he brought his lips down to hers in an instantly heated kiss. He slipped his fingers under the jacket to her right shoulder, gently pushing the jacket and the bra strap slightly off. Pulling away from her mouth, he kissed his way down her neck and along her shoulder, whilst he whispered, "You're a little too distracting and one of the attendants was on the way over." He nipped at her shoulder before he made his way back to her lips again, briefly noticing her eyes were closed. He didn't care that Grey could see them. He enjoyed kissing her too much to miss out on an opportunity. Especially a legitimate mission orientated one. Her lips moved under his, in sync; responding to his touch, the pressure and the request for entrance, allowing him to taste the sweetness and heat of her mouth. Memories of earlier this morning flashing through his mind causing him to forget that this was supposed to be for show. He heard the click of the fuel pump telling them it was finished. Reluctantly, he stopped the kiss. Annabel slowly opened her eyes and he knew the look in hers was the same as in his. Neither wanted this to stop.

After a couple of short breaths, Annabel managed to find her voice and said softly, "Guess we're ready to go."

"Yeah." Callen pulled away slowly, as he straightened up his jacket. He smiled slightly at the mark he had left behind. Annabel turned and took the pump out, put on the fuel cap and closed the lid.

"You better get in the front this time," Annabel added as she turned to face him.

They moved to the door and Callen got in, keeping his head away from the cameras as she walked around to the driver's side. She hopped in, started the van and drove off.

"Well, that was interesting," Grey commented from behind her. Annabel looked in the mirror and saw the twinkle in Grey's eye and noted that he was sitting at the window right where it had all happened. Inwardly she groaned, knowing he'd be asking questions the first chance he got; the big brother questions. She was glad she was driving and made a mental note not to leave Grey alone with Callen any time in the near future.

"Gonna give me back my jacket?" Callen asked from beside her.

She glanced quickly across at him, "Later," she answered, smiling then gave a small shrug of her shoulders before adding. "Maybe. I kinda like it."

"Looks better on you," Callen replied.

She didn't reply, though she felt her heart race and the heat come to her face. She concentrated on driving and resisted the insane urge to let her hair down so she had something to hide behind. She knew where she was going from here, so she stayed behind the wheel. Her head was hurting a bit, though not as bad as before, and she felt confident that she could handle the drive. Plus, with Callen right beside her, she knew he would order her off the road if he felt she couldn't handle it. Safe, that was where she was taking them, and this place was the safest place she knew. She hoped it was enough.


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N - Back to Eric and co. this time._

_Thanks again. The support for this story continues to amaze me. I so pleased you are all enjoying this ride so much._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_._

**Chapter 21**

"Welcome to MTAC, Eric," Vance said as they stepped through the door.

"Everyone out," Vance ordered to the two other staff members in the room. They quickly left and then it was just Eric and Vance.

"Eric, do what you have to do. Find them," Vance added as he took a seat and waited for Eric to move.

"Don't you have to see McGee?" Eric asked as he finally moved and hooked his computer into the system.

"He can wait. Can't do much until Miss Sciuto and Agent Gibbs get his computer. Show me the footage of Agent Blye. Let's see what we can do with that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

"Gibbs, this doesn't feel right," Abby complained as they packed up McGee's computer.

"Nope, but we don't have a choice, Abs. We need to clear McGee, so we have to."

Abby put the last of the cables into a box and picked it up. "All right. You grab that," she said indicating the main computer box, "and we're out of here."

As they stepped closer to the door, they were surprised when it opened and in walked McGee.

"Boss? Abby? What are you doing here?" McGee asked, confused as Abby stepped behind Gibbs like she was needing protection.

"Why aren't you at the office?" Gibbs asked, ignoring McGee's question.

"I had a dentist appointment and I forgot my gym bag for later. You?"

"McGee, you need to come with us," Gibbs said firmly as he started to move toward the door. McGee didn't move.

"Why do you have my computer?"

Abby piped up before Gibbs could answer. "Because we need to clear you of plotting to kidnap Callen and Kensi," she said, the words tumbling out of her mouth.

"What?" McGee exclaimed, reminiscent of the response from Vance earlier.

"Abby," Gibbs warned.

"What? It's not like he can do anything now. You'll take him in. I'll find out what I need to from his computer to clear him and everything will be hunky dory," Abby replied confidently.

"What are you talking about, Abby? Gibbs?" McGee asked.

Gibbs sighed. He trusted McGee, even though things looked bad.

"It looks like you were responsible for releasing files on them. The evidence suggests that you were helping arrange their kidnapping," Gibbs admitted.

"Boss, you know I would never do anything like that." McGee moved his gaze from Gibbs to Abby. "Abby?" His question more like a plea for her to say she believed him.

"I know, McGee," Abby said gently. "It just looks bad, that's all. Give me time, I'll clear your name."

"Boss?" McGee turned back to Gibbs.

"I don't want to believe, McGee. That would be why we're here and why I haven't pulled my gun on you."

McGee looked over to Abby and nodded. "Let's go."

They all went to Gibbs' car and headed to the office, straight to MTAC. Vance was waiting there and Eric was already hard at work.

"Beside me, McGee. Not a word until you are cleared. Do you understand?" Vance ordered.

"Understood," McGee answered as he took a seat.

Abby moved down to Eric, Gibbs following with the computer parts.

Everyone sat silently, waiting for them to sort everything out.

McGee was completely confused at how he had gone from searching for them to being suspected. From being trusted by Vance, to sitting beside him, feeling like he was only moments away from being put in handcuffs and led to the interrogation room.

Vance was trying very hard not to rush Abby or Eric. He wanted answers, he wanted to know where Hetty and the L.A team were and he wanted to know who had compromised NCIS. Something told him all those answers weren't going to be easy to get or necessarily the answers he wanted.

Gibbs, on the other hand, was patient. Not because he wasn't wondering or wanting answers, but simply because Abby was the best they had, so was Eric, and they had already been working on this so he was sure they would be working as fast as they could. He knew how Abby felt about Callen and the L.A team after the incident earlier in the year with her Phantom, especially Callen. He knew she would turn the world upside down to find what she needed to and wouldn't stop until she did. Whilst he didn't know Eric well, he knew from Callen how tight the team was. He knew how Eric had felt guilty about Dom, felt that he hadn't done enough, hadn't watched enough, or dug deep enough. Callen knew that Eric had nothing to feel guilty about and that reassured Gibbs that Eric would be at least as determined as Abby to find them, if not more. So he waited patiently, because he knew that it would happen when it happened.

It was about three quarters of an hour, a couple of coffee and Caf-Pow! runs by Gibbs, later that Abby turned around, a triumphant look on her face.

"He didn't do it. Someone hacked into his computer and used it to hack NCIS," Abby squealed in delight as she jumped up, that bounce back in her step, and rushed over to hug McGee.

Abby turned to Gibbs. "Told you so."

Gibbs smiled at her. "I know. Glad you were right."

"Can I help now?" McGee asked eagerly.

Vance nodded. Abby and McGee went to join Eric, Abby literally skipping on the way. Gibbs and Vance following less exuberantly, being older, wiser and, well, not as crazy or hyped on caffeine as Abby was.

"Anything new, Eric?" Abby asked as she bounced on her toes behind his chair.

Eric turned around in his chair and faced them.

"Aside from Vance and McGee being innocent after all?" Eric returned.

"Vance?" McGee turned to look at Gibbs, eyes wide.

Gibbs shrugged. "He was a suspect too."

"Eric?" Abby turned serious. "You know something."

"A few things. That guy with Kensi? We've found him, sort of." Eric turned back to the keyboard

"And?" Vance came to stand right next to Eric.

After a few keystrokes, Eric brought up ten different photos of a man on the screen. All very similar.

"Meet George Campbell, Anthony Mancini, Craig Proctor, Mikael Belaia, Joesph Lyons, Barret Carmichael, Liam Flanagan, Steven Jeffreys, Nikoli Merinov and Alex Reynolds."

"One and the same?" Gibbs asked Eric.

"Believe so, and no idea which is the original. We have Australian, American, British, French, Irish, Italian and Russian."

"How did you track these down? The picture wasn't very clear," Abby asked.

"There was enough of a mark on his face to suggest a scar, so I did some editing and made it clearer to help with the search. Not 100% but I'd bet this is our guy."

"But it doesn't really help, does it?" Vance asked.

"I'm running deeper searches on these guys. Might give us something," Eric added.

"What else, Eric?" Abby asked.

"The vehicle they drove off in. I've tracked it to a four block radius in L.A but the street cameras around that area were down for maintenance for six hours that day, including when she drove into that section."

"What about when the car came out?" Vance asked.

"It didn't," Eric replied.

"Gibbs, get Nate to send a team. I want that entire area swept for signs of them."

"What else, Eric?" Gibbs asked, sensing there was more to come.

"I've just had a message from Hetty," Eric said, a smile on his face.

"Are they all right?" Gibbs asked quickly.

Eric's smile dropped. "I don't know. She didn't say."

"What did she say?" Gibbs asked giving Eric a look that suggested he was getting frustrated again and wanted answers and now. Abby elbowed and glared at him. Gibbs rolled his eyes and settled his expression into a more neutral one.

"She gave me a few keywords. I'm just about to call a friend of hers to find out more."

"Who's this friend?" Vance asked.

"Graham. He is the head of MI6." Vance and Gibbs both looked surprised at that. Eric shrugged. "That's the direction Hetty has pointed me in so, let's find out. Can I make an international call?" Eric asked Vance, not that he really needed to but this wasn't really his domain.

"Whatever you need to do," Vance agreed.

Eric turned back to the terminal and dialed the number Hetty had given him just after the Keelson incident. She'd told him she would let him know when or if it was time to call it.

"Yes?" came a terse response, heavy with a British accent.

"Hi," Eric said tentatively. "I was given this number for Graham. Is that you?"

"Who is this?" the man asked suspiciously.

"My name Eric, I'm a friend and colleague of Hetty."

"Yes, I'm Graham. Are they all right?" Graham asked, sounding concerned.

"We think so, can't be sure though," Eric answered. "We don't know where they are. She sent me a message suggesting I contact you for some help."

"What did she give you?" Graham asked.

"British, Mitch, bad spy, MI6, Bel, good spy," Eric replied, giving Graham the keywords in the exact order Hetty had sent them to him.

Abby frowned in confusion at Eric, who shook his head.

Graham chuckled softly. "I don't think I want to know how she delivered that message. Thank you, Eric. You are the one Hetty trusts at NCIS, correct?"

"Actually, we've managed to clear NCIS of being compromised," Eric told him. "The hack was planted. Unfortunately we can't trace where it came from. Can you help us? We don't know how to find them."

"You won't. At least if they can still do what Hetty asked of them. Mitch, Bad spy? You are sure that is the message?"

"Yes," Eric confirmed.

"All right. I will get my people onto that straight away." There was a small pause as Graham took a breath and let it out slowly. They heard this through the phone and it suggested that this information was unexpected. "Mitch is Annabel's immediate boss. Mitch Caldwell Dorset. Who is supposed to be in France on holidays. Thank you for passing that on, Eric. When Hetty called, she asked for Annabel because she trusts her. She is one of a select handful of people Hetty has absolute faith in. They have had some experiences in the past that have built that trust. Annabel's team consisted of four members. One of them is back here now. The other two are Grey and Sasha. I will send you what I can of their files and photos. If they have been compromised through Mitch, it might help you track them down, if Annabel has been unable to get them well hidden."

"Kensi was shot at that night," Eric added.

"Did she get hit?"

"We don't think so. It looked like the man who was with her did though. They got away. The footage wasn't very clear, but we've been able to identify the man, sort of. Possible names are Anthony Mancini, Joseph Lyons-"

"That's Grey," Graham interrupted.

"So, good guy?" Eric asked, just to be sure.

"Yes," Graham assured them.

"Who are you going to get to look into this?" Vance asked.

"You are?" Graham asked, his tone going from friendly to cautious at the unknown voice.

"Director Leon Vance," Vance introduced himself to his counterpart."We know about The Twelve and the threat of information being released if something happens to Callen," Vance added.

After a brief moment of silence, Graham asked "How do you know about The Twelve?"

"I knew two of them. Corine and Jeremiah," Vance replied, a touch of sadness in his voice.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Graham replied, sympathy heavy in his voice.

"Thank you."

"I need to know how you found out about them," Graham said.

"Jeremiah sent me a package with a small amount of information in it. It arrived after their funeral. What else can you tell us?"

There was another moment of silence.

"Hetty and myself are two of those assigned to protect them. Hetty was specifically placed close to Callen. The rest I'll tell you in person. I'll be on the first flight out. Director Vance, are you capable of doing _anything_ to keep them safe?"

Vance frowned. "They are my people. Of course I am."

"_Whatever_ it takes, Director," Graham added. "We will take care of the bill for anything that you need, any manpower you require. Do you understand what I am trying to say?" Graham asked.

"Anything?" Vance asked, wondering if he was meaning what he thought he did.

"And _everything_."

"How are you going to pay for this?" Vance asked, not that the money was a problem. He was just curious. He was quite sure what Graham meant now, the implication of the words sinking in. This was sounding like it was much bigger than even they had suspected.

"The protectors of The Twelve have quite an abundant source of funding. It won't be a problem. Good luck, Eric. Hetty has a great deal of faith and respect for you. I look forward to meeting all of you."

"Thank you, Graham," Eric replied, feeling quite chuffed that Hetty had said that about him to someone so high up the food chain.

"Wait," Vance called out just before Eric could disconnect. Eric pulled his hand back from the button quickly.

"Yes, Director?" Graham replied.

"Who are you going to get to look into this Mitch Dorset?"

"We have a team, a special strike force, that monitors for suspicious activity and treason within MI6. They were put in place after 9/11. They take care of things like this, fairly independently. They only answer to me after the fact, needing to completely justify any action then."

"That's a lot of power. What keeps them in line?" Gibbs asked.

"The rules. If they do something outside of the charter for the team, they will be tried for treason. Their career within MI6 will be immediately over, no benefits, no job references and, should they be found guilty of treason, life in prison, no parole."

They were some serious consequences for breaking the rules.

"You are the Washington NCIS branch I take it?" Graham asked.

"Yes," Vance confirmed.

"I will see you soon."

Eric disconnected the call.

"The Twelve?" McGee asked.

"Take a seat, McGee," Gibbs said looking from McGee to Vance. "He's all yours." Gibbs turned away, "Eric, can you send a message to Hetty?"

"Yep. What should I tell her?" Eric asked.

"Find out if they are all okay. Let them know that we aren't compromised after all. Abby, start looking for Dorset. McGee will help when Vance finishes with him."

Gibbs pulled out his phone to take care of arranging the team to do the search in L.A.


	22. Chapter 22

_A/N - So back to our runaways. Thanks once again for the support. It really helps especially at the moment when things are starting to happen so fast and I'm trying to get my head around it all and keep it clear for everyone. Which hopefully I'm doing. At least as clear as I mean it to be because there is still a whole lot I don't want you to know yet. _

_Disclaimer in Chapter one._

_.  
_

**Chapter 22**

Just under two hours later they arrived at their destination. A small track off the side of the road, that you wouldn't know was there unless you were going slow enough, or unless you knew the signs to look for. Ten minutes later they arrived at a house that appeared to be set into a small hill. A man was standing out the front, a large rifle pointed at them. Callen tensed, but a glance at Annabel, who was smiling and relaxed, told him this was to be expected. She was about to get out when he put a hand on her to stop her.

"What?" Annabel asked, frowning at him.

"Just thought you might want to do up the jacket a bit more," Callen said. Annabel glanced down and realised that it was barely done up half way. She blushed as she turned around and Grey passed her her shirt, that twinkle still in his eye. She slipped out of the jacket, throwing it at Callen, not quite as effectively as she had hoped as he caught it easily, instead of it landing on his face, as put her shirt back on.

"Couldn't have told me that sooner?" she asked.

"Why? Was enjoying the view," Callen replied. Annabel felt the heat grow on her cheeks as she saw one side of his mouth tilt up in a knowing grin. She shook her head at his response. Annabel got out of the car and walked over to the man, her hands stretched out to the side, showing she was no threat. Callen put the window down so he could hear.

"You've grown up a bit, young lady," the man said.

"Guess you should have visited a bit more often," Annabel replied, giving him the answer she always did to his familiar greeting.

"Same to you," the man said, a smile starting to form on his face.

"You hate it when people bother your retirement," Annabel said her final part of their prearranged greeting.

"You can bother me anytime, Annabel," the man said.

"Noted." Annabel stepped into his arms, closing her eyes at the familiar safe feeling he gave her. Something she really needed right now with everything that had happened. She had known John her entire life. She trusted him almost more than she trusted Grey.

Back in the car, Callen asked, "Who's he?"

"That's John," Grey answered.

"John who?" Callen turned to face Grey, wondering what it was with them that first names were all anyone seemed to get out of them.

"Just John," Grey said as Annabel turned and beckoned them all out of the van.

"Sasha," Annabel called out, "can you move the car into the garage please?"

Sasha got back in the van and the rest followed Annabel and John into the house.

"So what brings you this far from home?" John eventually asked Annabel, as everyone found a place to sit, or stand depending on their preference. "And with so much company?"

"We need your help. We came out for a mission but it was compromised by Mitch," Annabel replied.

"Never liked the guy," John remarked.

Grey frowned. "You never told me that."

"It was just the way he looked at her. Just thought it was an old man being protective," John replied. He glanced between Annabel and Grey. "You looking after her for me?" he asked Grey.

"Always, at least as much as she lets me," Grey replied with a smile and Annabel rolled her eyes at them.

"So, who are all these people?" John asked, looking around.

"Callen, Hetty, Sam, Kensi, and Sasha," Annabel introduced, Sasha having just walked through the door and joined them.

"They the good guys, or the bad guys?" John asked, eyeing off Callen who was standing right next to Annabel. Callen wondered just how much John had witnessed through the window of the van and what conclusions he had come to. Callen got a feeling he was being judged in that one look and he wasn't entirely sure if he passed or not.

"Good," Annabel said. "And yes, I'm sure," she added with a smile.

"Still cheeky aren't you?" John's gaze left Callen and went to her.

"You know you love me," Annabel replied cheekily.

"As if you were my own," John assured her seriously. "What do you need?" he asked.

"For a start, some food and some sleep would be great. We won't stay too long," Grey answered.

"Stay as long as you need. Relax and I'll get us some food," John said turning and heading to the kitchen. Annabel followed to help and the rest relaxed or made use of the bathroom.

A few minutes later though, any thoughts of relaxation fled when an alarm went off. They all froze. John and Annabel hurried back from the kitchen with John moving directly to a computer that was at a desk in the corner of the room.

"Who is it?" Annabel asked. After a few keys strokes, John turned and looked at her.

"Mitch," he replied seriously.

"What?" Annabel was frozen to the spot.

Everyone else stood up quickly, though none really knew what to do.

"How?" asked Grey and Annabel at the same time.

"Thought you said this place was safe?" Callen asked as he stepped closer to Annabel. He noticed her complexion had gone quite pale with this news.

"It should have been." Annabel's tone held so much disbelief and confusion. "I'm the only one here who knew the way or where we were going," she said. Even Grey hadn't known John's location. John had a few places and he was slightly paranoid, so whilst together Annabel and Grey knew how to get to every one, individually they didn't. She closed her eyes, putting her hands to her temples, breathing heavily, not believing this was happening again.

"Is there another way out?" Callen asked, glancing at John.

"No," said Annabel.

"Yes," said John at the same time. Annabel looked at him. John cocked an eyebrow and shook his head slightly. "You should know better, Annabel. One way in, but more than one out."

"How did he find us?" Annabel asked, turning around slowly looking at everyone. She closed her eyes and thought for a moment. What had she missed?

Their exit from the plane wasn't planned. He'd found them so quickly, and accurately at the house because of the necklace, but that was gone. It was over two years ago that he'd planted it on her. He couldn't possibly have been thinking about this that long ago, could he? Two years ago … Her thoughts cleared and she took in a deep sharp breath as she realised what had happened. She opened her eyes and looked straight at Grey. "He played me again," she said, not much louder than a whisper, disbelief in her eyes and voice.

"What do you mean?" Callen asked moving closer to her.

"Annabel, we need to go," Sasha urged as she put her hand on Annabel's shoulder to turn her around.

Annabel looked Sasha in the eye for a split second before she brought her fist back and connected with Sasha's jaw, grabbing her before she could step away and throwing her against the wall. Adrenaline, anger and frustration, numbing the pain in her shoulder as she used every ounce of strength to do it.

Sasha got up quickly, rubbing her jaw and looking in disbelief at Annabel.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sasha asked.

Grey put his hand on Annabel, but she shrugged it off quickly. "Bel?"

Annabel shook her head and advanced on Sasha.

John put his hand on Callen's shoulder, stopping him from following when Grey didn't. Callen looked at him and frowned. John shook his head at him slightly and said quietly enough that only he heard him. "She needs to do this." Callen turned back to watch the scene play out in front of him.

"How long?" Annabel asked, anger in her voice.

"I don't know what you are talking ab-" Sasha was cut off as Annabel got close enough to throw another punch and Sasha fought back. Whilst Sasha landed a fist in a few places including Annabel's already bruised stomach and ribs, the fury Annabel felt right now numbed the effects. Sasha was an exceptional fighter, deceptively good for someone so small, but right now, she was no match for Annabel.

Annabel turned Sasha and slammed her face first into the wall, hearing the whoosh of breath leave Sasha's lungs at the force of the impact.

"How long?" Annabel growled in her ear, twisting her arm right up her back and making Sasha hiss in pain, as she was pinned against the wall, unable to move.

Aside from Callen, everyone else seemed frozen in disbelief. Grey shook himself out of it and stepped toward Annabel.

"Stay back, Grey. She's mine." Annabel warned, without even glancing at her brother. She knew exactly where he was and when he had moved. "Last time, Sasha. How long have you been his toy?"

As she spoke, Annabel reached for her gun and placed it against Sasha's temple, taking the safety off as she did.

"Longer than I've been with you," Sasha admitted as she turned her head slightly and gave them all a smile. Not the smile they was used to. This one was cruel and cunning.

Annabel started to shake inside, but she held the gun still. She might not have been able to take down Mitch, but she could do his proxy. Callen stepped up beside her and put his hand over hers on the gun, but didn't try and take it from her.

"We need to go, Annabel. Now. Leave her," Callen urged. Annabel glared at Sasha. She desperately wanted to do something to make her pay. An image of Zoe flashed through her mind; that tiny body, those blue eyes, blonde hair, pale skin, wrapped in a blanket in her arms. She wanted to pull the trigger. She could her feel her finger twitching a little, but she had made a promise to herself once. If she had to kill someone, it wouldn't be for revenge. She needed to be able to justify it for the mission. And Sasha, she couldn't. Not enough, not with that picture of Zoe so clearly before her eyes. Revenge and pain were clouding her judgment.

"Bel, we only have a few minutes left," Grey added, stepping up beside her too.

"Handcuffs," Annabel requested, as she released the gun to Callen, making sure Sasha couldn't move. John joined them and handed her a pair.

"Thanks." Annabel used her knee and forced Sasha hard to the floor, keeping her face down.

Sasha turned and looked at her. "You really think you can get away from him? He's been planning this for so long," Sasha said.

"Planning what?" Annabel asked as she snapped the handcuffs on both of Sasha's wrists and and around the sturdy leg of the heavy cupboard they were right next to.

"You need to leave now," John advised firmly.

Annabel stood up and took what she hoped was a final look at Sasha, who smirked at her.

"Run little girl," Sasha said in a sing song voice as she sat up as best she could considering her confinement. "He'll find you." The tone, the words, the look; all sent a shiver through everyone who heard and saw it.

"Who?" demanded Annabel, kneeling down quickly and taking Sasha's head firmly in her hand as she looked into her eyes. There had to be more to this than just Mitch. She needed to know who was after them. How could she protect them if she didn't know who or what it was she was trying to stop?

Sasha didn't answer, just continued to twist the knife more. "You can't keep him safe any more than you could save your precious Zoe," Sasha added confidently.

With that, Annabel struck Sasha's face again. Before she could continue, Callen caught her hand as he pulled her up and away.

"Guess I'm lucky you don't have a gun this time," Callen remarked. Annabel looked at him confused.

"Why?" she asked.

"If you don't remember I'm not going to remind you."

"All right people. Let's get you out of here, two minutes," John said. They all turned and followed him to an internal garage. Entering a code on the control panel, a large door opened, revealing a very dark tunnel. Callen's curiosity over who John was, going up more than another notch at the sight.

"Get in," John ordered. "The car has enough fuel to get you just about anywhere. There are two extra tanks in the back, plus there's food. Not gourmet, but it will keep you going, as well as water. Some cash and cards too, in the glove box and a computer. It's all yours, go. You'll need your best driver to get you through the tunnel onto the road, it's not very wide."

"Kensi," Grey and Callen said together.

John threw the keys to Kensi and she got in without another word. Hetty and Sam following her into the front bench seat.

Callen turned back to see Annabel staring at John. A look of horror on her face. He frowned.

"No." Annabel shook her head. "You have to come with us," she begged.

"Sorry, baby girl." John reached out and stroked her hair gently, just near the cut. His looked turned angry. "I've got a score to settle."

Annabel shook her head again. "No. I can't lose you too."

"Retirement was always too quiet for me. Be good. Protect him," John said as he glanced briefly at Callen before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, "Now go." He turned and started to walk away.

"Please," Annabel begged him. He turned back.

"Grey, get her out of here," John ordered firmly before he left the room and closed the door.

Callen stepped up and pulled her back into the car. Grey closed the door behind them and hurried to the other side.

Annabel stared out the window at the last place she had seen John, tears running down her face as she whispered, "No."

Callen wondered what this man meant to her. Grey had said she only cried over Zoe. John was much older, but he seemed to care about her a lot, so did she. He briefly wondered if perhaps John was her father. Could explain the look he had been getting earlier, except John had said 'as if you were my own,' which ruled that out. As the car started to move, Annabel unfroze.

"We can't leave him here," she cried desperately as she tried to reach for the door, but Callen and Grey held her back.

"No Bel. We have to go," Grey said. She turned and glared at him.

"He is going to die," she ground out.

"You don't know that, Bel. John has always been good at getting out of impossible situations," Grey reminded her. She turned back to Callen.

"We can't," she whispered.

Callen caught Hetty's movement in the front out of the corner of his eye and turned this head briefly toward her. She shook her head at him. She was serious. Callen wished he could turn them around, go back. Annabel was in so much pain. But he couldn't do anything to ease that for her.

"I'm sorry," Callen said.

Annabel closed her eyes. Callen watched as the tears fell and again, to comfort her, he pulled her into his arms.

Annabel sank against him. She had missed so much. She could see all the opportunities with hindsight. Sasha had the computer and the bag, she was alone when they jumped from the plane. The trip to the shop for food. She must have found a way to let Mitch know what direction they were headed in when they'd left town. The motel. She couldn't figure that out, but she'd been in the shower most of the time. She'd asked Sasha to move the car into the garage. The way Sasha was just that bit more relaxed than the rest of them, showing no real emotion about Adrian or Mandy. Sasha had joined her team whilst she'd been pregnant with Zoe, recommended by Mitch who'd convinced her when she came back that having Sasha on the team would be great. She was already working well with Grey and Shawn and he'd have no trouble swinging the funding for another member. That should have told her something. They'd been asking for another team member for a year with no luck and no support from him for one. It had all added up finally in her mind at John's. Hopefully it wasn't too late. Why didn't she see it? Back then? Now? Subtle; that was one of her strengths. Because there had been too much going through her mind. Zoe, Callen, the betrayal. All of that combined must have clouded her mind too much. She'd failed and now John ... She wouldn't do it again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

John stepped back through the door, closed it and checked his watch. He still had time. He'd hurried them out, knowing he needed a little extra before Mitch actually arrived. Returning to the living area, he walked to his computer and, after a few keystrokes, he reached into the drawer and pulled out his handgun, double checking that it was loaded. He advanced on Sasha, a menacing look in his eyes that had her pushing back against the wall, as if trying to get away from him. Not that it was going to do her any good.

"So, you worked for Mitch," John stated, deliberately using the past tense in his phrase.

"Yes," Sasha replied, her eyes flickering between his face and the gun that was resting comfortably in his hand.

"Wrong answer," John replied calmly, shaking his head. "I know who you are. Your father made a mistake putting you so close to my family. It wasn't your eyes, your hair, your face. None of that gave you away, after all you look nothing like him and I have a feeling I've never met your mother."

"I don't know -" John pointed his gun at Sasha and she bit back the words.

"You know we will kill him. Make sure that he is dead this time."

"If you can find him," Sasha spat out, confirming further that John was right in his suspicions.

"Oh, We'll find him. Though it would be a lot easier if you would just tell me," John replied confidently.

"As if I would betray him."

John shrugged. "You already have. You're what, thirty? Thirty two, at most? Since he supposedly died thirty eight years ago, you shouldn't exist. I know he wants Callen. It won't be hard. But at least now, I know for sure who we are looking for."

"You and Rebecca?" Sasha laughed cynically. "You think you two old timers can get to him?"

"No, not just us." John stepped over to her, knelt down, ensuring her legs were trapped and unable to kick out at him. He reached out and grabbed her hair and forced her to face him. "It won't be that hard, once he knows you're dead. It will be a toss up whether he continues pursuing Callen, or comes after Mitch for failing to keep you safe."

John moved so he was at eye level with her, releasing her hair as he did, knowing he had her trapped with his look. She wouldn't look away now. "Mitch was supposed to keep you safe, wasn't he?" John saw the answer flash across her face. Mitch would be in trouble once her father knew she was dead. John smiled satisfactorily, a plan already underway in his mind, now he had his answers.

"I wonder how you ever passed your MI6 training," he continued. "You've given me so much with your responses. You confirmed he survived all those years ago. You told me that he is still alive. That he is after Callen. You confirmed that you know about us, that there are just two of us. Which makes me wonder where you or your father were eight months ago." John tilted his head thoughtfully. He shook off the pain of his friends deaths and continued. "He should have trained you better. I would've. I did with Annabel and Grey." He smiled tenderly at the thought of those two. Then he looked into Sasha's eyes and remembered who she was and what she had done. His smiled dropped. "You hurt those precious to me. I will kill you." He stroked the tip of the gun over one of her cheeks, making her flinch. He watched as she fought back the terror as she tried another verbal attack. She obviously wasn't as emotionless as her father had been.

"Yeah? Poor Annabel wasn't up for the job. What makes you think you are?" Sasha snarled.

John brought his hand up as if to hit her and smiled as she recoiled.

"This isn't about Annabel. But I assure you, she's up for the job. You only have to look in her eyes and you'll see how much she would do for him, how much she cares for him already ... Did your father ever tell you what one of my roles was?"

Sasha stared at him silently.

"No? Clean up detail. If things ever went wrong, someone got away, I'd take care of them. Clean up the mess, so to speak. Make sure there were no loose ends to give us away."

"So, I'm the mess?" Sasha asked.

John shook his head. "No. You're not the mess. Your father is. And after all these years later, I get to finish the job. You, however," he shook his head again, "I cannot let go because if I did, you would go back to him, help him hurt them. Not to mention letting him know that we know he is still alive. I've spent this long protecting them, I'm not going to stop now."

Sasha laughed, almost hysterically. "You think killing me will protect them?"

"Not entirely. It's a step in the right direction. One less threat."

An alarm went off and John smiled. "Time for me to go."

"You think you are better than my father. You're not!" Sasha screamed at him.

John straightened his legs and stepped back. He raised his gun to her head. "I am," John said confidently. "Because if I wasn't, I wouldn't be wasting a bullet on you. I'd simply let you burn. You know it was your smile. That cold, cruel, calculating smile. It's exactly the same as his. With it, you confirmed that he did indeed survive. _You_ were your father's downfall."

With those last words ringing in her ears, John pulled the trigger, aim accurate, even if he was an old-timer. Death was instant. She wouldn't suffer. He wasn't cruel like that. He stepped over to his computer and with a few more keystrokes, everything was set. He turned and glanced at the dead woman on the floor, a brief moment of regret going through him as it always did when he had to kill. A feeling he accepted and never tried to stop, because if he didn't regret it, he couldn't be sure that he was on the right side.

As he walked away, toward the back of the house, he pulled out his phone and dialed, leaving a message on the voice mail. "Rebecca, he needs to know. It's Peter after him. I've sent you details. Go find him and tell him. I'm going to get the proof we need."

Mitch, he would hunt down later, that is if Mitch survived Peter's wrath. Because whilst he was still very good, an old man up against five younger, well armed and trained ones that were making their way to his house right now, weren't good odds. He hadn't survived this long by being stupid. Mitch, he would get when he was alone and vulnerable, and make him pay for what he had done to Annabel. He'd seen the fear and the pain in her eyes in those few minutes in the kitchen when she'd told him about the tracking device in her necklace, and the things that had gone wrong so far on the mission. Then when she realised Mitch had found them yet again. First though, he had to help keep them safe; those he had sworn to protect. He needed to find Peter and get proof he was still alive, before he could call in the Calvary. And this time, Mitch would be his pawn.

.

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_A/N - in trouble? Good? What did you think of the revelations here? Thanks for reading._


	23. Chapter 23

_A/N - Thanks again for the wonderful support. Glad the last chapter appeared to have worked out well._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

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**Chapter 23**

Callen wasn't sure how long it took, but eventually Kensi got them out of the tunnel and onto the road. The trip through the tunnel had been in silence, giving Kensi the chance to focus solely on maneuvering the vehicle through the confined space.

"Where are we going?" Kensi asked. Callen could hear the relief in her voice that the walls were no longer closing in around them.

"I think it's time to head to Washington," Hetty answered. "At least there we have some back up with Agent Gibbs, Abby and Eric," she continued.

"I agree," said Sam.

Callen nodded, more to himself than anyone else. "No more running away," he said. "We run to something now. We get to Washington. We get to Gibbs and then Hetty," Callen's firm tone stepping up a notch as he continued. "You will spill everything and we will find them first." He wanted them all to be able to focus on whatever it was Hetty told them. Right now, there was so much emotion, confusion, doubt and nervous energy buzzing around. It was also getting dark. So, as much as he wanted to know now, it wasn't the time. They needed Gibbs, Abby and Eric to add to the team, to help them sort out this mess, find who they were up against. Gibbs had pulled him back from the brink before, maybe this time he'd be able to do something before it got that close again.

"Washington it is," Kensi said. "Sam, can you sort out the GPS for me?"

Callen looked over at Grey, now that the question of what next was solved. "Who is John?" he asked again.

Annabel moved in his arms and answered. "Mentor, unofficial godfather, the one who recommended us for MI6 and trained us. He's been around our entire life, like another father. He retired a few years ago and moved out here." She sat up, pulling away from Callen as she wiped the remaining tears off her cheeks and from her eyes. She looked at him with a small smile of thanks before she turned to Grey.

"Drop me off at the next town. I won't be coming with you," Annabel said. This was over for her. It was all she could do now to protect him. If Mitch was hunting her to get to Callen, then if she wasn't with him, maybe it would give Grey a chance to get them to Washington safely. She'd just have to hope that Mitch was focusing on her to find Callen. Make sure she was seen, without it seeming obvious. She'd done it before, she'd do it again because this time it was even more important than last time.

Grey and Callen stared at her.

"Like hell." Grey's words echoed those in Callen's head that he had yet to voice.

"Bel, she had me fooled too. Shawn, as well. This is not your fault," Grey continued.

"Come on, Grey," Annabel protested, shaking her head. "I planned this and everything has gone wrong. Take me out of the picture, you've got a better chance of keeping them safe and away from Mitch. Hopefully Mitch will follow me. I'm sure he thinks I would never leave him," Annabel said.

"No," Callen reiterated. He wouldn't let her go out there alone.

Annabel turned and looked at him, desperation in her eyes. Callen knew why she wanted to do it, but he wouldn't let her. She'd been through too much over this, she needed them as much as they needed her. He managed to push back the voice inside his head that was telling him that he needed her, because that had nothing to do with the mission.

"This isn't your choice, Callen." Annabel's tone was firm, one that could almost rival Hetty. Almost, but not quite. There was too much pain in her eyes for her order to change his mind, though she continued to justify her decision. "We can't let them get you and everything that has happened has been connected with me. You'll be safer with just Grey," Annabel said.

"No Annabel," Hetty disagreed in that firm tone of hers. "You will be staying with us," she ordered from the front seat.

"Hetty, please," Annabel begged. She adored the little woman and it was bad enough that she had failed the request that Hetty had given her, let alone put her in so much danger as well.

"No," Hetty continued. "If Mitch is after you then you will be safer with all of us. Plus..." Callen could already hear the smile that was coming into Hetty's tone in that one word. "Agent Callen needs full time protection. You have no idea what trouble he can find if left to his own devices," Hetty added in a slightly teasing manner, as she tried to relieve some of the tension that was filling the car.

Annabel couldn't leave. If this was related to The Twelve, then Hetty had no doubt that Annabel would be a target now, just as much as Callen and Kensi. For someone to have been this determined and well planned, to have already used her for so long, this was more than your average kidnapping. She had brought Annabel into this and they would safely find a way out. All of them. Together.

"I'll agree with that," Sam chuckled.

"I'm the one supposed to be protecting him, and I can't," Annabel protested.

"I'm still alive aren't I?" Callen reached out and gently turned Annabel's face to him.

Annabel couldn't exactly figure out an appropriate response, at least none that would help in favour of her decision. Callen pushed the advantage of her silence.

"I'm alive, I'm not hurt ... much." He had some minor bruising from the seat belt and the one on his head from the crash. "Unlike you," Callen added thinking about her shoulder, her ankle, the bruising of her ribs and stomach, the bruise and cut on her head from the car crash, not to mention whatever had just happened with the fight with Sasha.

"I -" Annabel started to say. Callen put a hand firmly over her mouth

"You want to get out at the next town, fine," he agreed. "But ... I'll be coming with you." Callen played that card, feeling confident she wouldn't accept. Even only knowing her for a few days, he was sure she would see that as an extremely dangerous choice that she wouldn't be able to let happen.

Hetty raised her eyebrows and turn around to protest, but she noticed the look on Callen's face and understood what he was doing, so she kept quiet.

Annabel couldn't believe what he was suggesting. He was crazy. She frowned. "Are you always this stubborn?" she asked, having noted the determination on his face.

"Yes," Sam and Kensi answered from the front.

"Only when I have to be," Callen said, holding back a smile at their agreement.

"You're staying Bel. We need you," Grey added his opinion to the force that was fighting against her leaving.

Annabel hadn't stopped looking at Callen. "I don't trust myself to keep you safe," she admitted quietly.

"I do," Callen assured her. They looked at each other for a few moments more before he sensed that he'd won.

"Fine," Annabel gave in as she put her head back against the seat. "But if anything else goes wrong, I go." It wasn't like she could make them stop. She wasn't driving and she was stuck in the middle between Callen and Grey. Jumping out of a moving vehicle wasn't an option. The slightest hiccup though and she would be gone.

.

When Annabel dropped off to sleep, her head found its way to Callen's shoulder. He adjusted them carefully so she would be more comfortable and put an arm around her, smiling when he felt her settle herself against him in her sleep. Grey glanced at them with a smile and a gentle look of concern, which Callen found rather odd. Grey turned his gaze from Annabel to him.

"Hope she sleeps for a while," he confided softly, hoping Callen would continue to help her stay comfortable. Sleeping in a car wasn't exactly Bel's favourite way to sleep.

"She doesn't sleep much?" Callen asked, remembering a comment Annabel had made early on in the mission.

Grey shook his head. "No. She goes to sleep and whenever she wakes up, she gets up. She's never told me why." It was one of the few things Annabel had never told him.

Callen could hear the concern and the care in Grey's voice.

"Any ideas? How long has it been going on?" Callen asked, concerned. He knew his own sleeping habits, or lack of them, were based in memories, trauma and some small amount of paranoia of not being ready. Thankfully though, he could get by on little sleep.

"Couple of years," Grey admitted, "since Zoe."

"Connected?" Callen asked. It would certainly be reason enough not to want to sleep much.

"Probably, but she clams up any time I try and talk to her about it," Grey said, looking at Annabel. The shadows that haunted his sister from Zoe and the torture, they were the things he desperately wanted to help her with, but they were the things she didn't want him to know about.

"You know if you want to talk about me, doing it over my head probably isn't the best place," Annabel said softly, her eyes still closed, though she didn't move from her position against Callen. There was something safe about being where she was and she needed that so much right now.

"Go back to sleep, Bel," Grey urged gently. Annabel opened her eyes and looked at Grey. She saw the concern in his. He saw the sadness in hers. With everything going through her at the moment, she didn't have the will to fight or keep this from him anymore.

"I can't stay in bed, because I remember her. I spent the day in bed with her. Just lying there, waiting for sleep to come, it's too hard," Annabel admitted, before she closed her eyes again. "Now please, a girl is trying to sleep here."

Grey looked down at Annabel and Callen caught a small flash of pain cross his face, that finally had him making the connection that what happened to Zoe had affected Grey, too.

Callen felt Annabel settle more comfortably against him. He was glad that she hadn't moved away; he liked feeling her in his arms. He turned his head and looked out the window, not that he could see much with it being dark now. He knew Sam would be looking closely for any tails, as would Kensi and Grey. He let his focus drift to the woman in his arms and what she was starting to mean to him. He just didn't know how it had happened in such a short time. Of course, there was the physical attraction which had been there right at the beginning. But there was more. He heard Sam's voice filter into his mind as he talked with Hetty and Kensi and something clicked. It was the trust he'd felt for her. It was the same feeling that he had with Sam, that complete knowledge that Sam had his back. He knew she did too. Yet at the same time, though he barely knew her, he felt a different connection to that with Sam. Perhaps it was the pain she'd been through, maybe what he knew of the kind of person she was. What she had done for Hetty, what she'd already done for him. Add to all of that, he actually liked what he knew about her so far; she had an interesting sense of humor, was loyal, gave everything when she did something. He may not be 100% sure of what he felt, but he suspected what was happening. It had just been so long since he'd felt anything like that. He hadn't recognised it the first time. It had snuck up on him back then and hit him suddenly. He wished he didn't think so highly of Grey. It would make pursuing Annabel so much easier. It was with that thought that he realised he'd made his choice. He was interested and he felt she was too. He'd find a way to let her know, let her make the choice. But he couldn't sit back and not try for the opportunity to have a chance with her.

.

They didn't stop, except to change drivers and bathroom breaks. Annabel slept for about an hour and a half. Not really that long, considering how little sleep they'd had recently. When she woke up, she checked the computer; eventually finding a report, including video footage, about a massive explosion, no survivors, that had matched with John's location. There had been a van in the background, a black one, with a few men standing around it. The picture wasn't clear but she was sure that one of the men was Mitch. She handed the computer to Grey after that and didn't touch it again. No survivors. Her heart ached. She should have stayed away, but she didn't have anywhere else that she felt she could have taken them.

"We'll need somewhere to stay when we get to Washington. Mitch may very well put our pictures out there now, with no other way of tracking us. A hotel is out of the question. Does anyone have any ideas?" Grey asked, knowing how Mitch would work.

"What about Eric? Could he set something up for us?" Callen asked.

"Once in Washington we'll make contact," Hetty said. "But first we need to get there and make sure no one is watching them," she finished.

"Owner direct rental, no I.D necessary and they email you the information and codes. We might be able to get a last minute deal," Annabel said, passing the computer back to Kensi whilst she looked through the glove box for what John had supplied them with. Callen was driving by then.

"John said there were some cards in here," she said, starting to get frustrated when she couldn't find them, until her fingers met with a small, loose strip of plastic. She frowned, then got curious and gave it a gentle tug. Out came the cards and more cash. She smiled to herself. John always had things hidden for them to find. It was a game they used to play when they were kids. Grey had been a little better at it than she had. She gathered them up and passed them back to Grey who was beside Kensi.

"Not much going, but there are a couple of places in two separate apartment buildings. One's a studio apartment, the other a one bedroom. Two in one and four in the other. Rules state that anymore than that in the rooms at night they'll kick you out," Kensi said. They couldn't risk bringing attention to themselves so they would need to follow the rules.

"Unless we can come up with anything else we don't have a choice for tonight," Annabel replied. "We can split Callen and Kensi up, just in case." She frowned, wondering if perhaps she shouldn't have suggested this. "Anyone have any other ideas?" she asked.

"Why?" Grey asked.

Annabel turned in her seat to look at him. "Because my ideas don't have a fantastic track record at present," she replied.

"We don't really have a choice," Kensi replied. "If he is looking, we have to assume he can look everywhere. Checking into a hotel, too much of a risk. Finding a vacant apartment we can break into, not going to be easy with alarms and secure building entry," Kensi added.

"Going straight to Gibbs?" Callen suggested.

"Not until we know they aren't being watched. Do it, Kensi," Hetty confirmed from next to him. Being the smallest, she was still in the middle of the front seat.

Annabel mentally crossed her fingers that this was the right move. She was doubting herself so much right now.

"Done," said Kensi after a few minutes. "So who goes with who?"

"Hetty and Sam go with Grey and Kensi," Callen spoke up first.

Annabel glanced across at him, her eyebrows raised at the awfully quick answer. One that she wasn't at all sure she agreed with.

"Reason?" she asked.

"Because if they get Kensi, they get me, if your theory is correct. Better for Kensi to have more protection if we can't all stay together," Callen said. Since no one knew about how he was feeling about Annabel, they shouldn't consider her a weak spot, so they would still just focus on getting their hands on him, at least he hoped so.

"Given that I'm injured, as you have pointed out, shouldn't either Hetty or Sam go with you?" Annabel asked.

"No, I can protect you," Callen said.

"That is not the point," Annabel said.

"Then what is?"

I don't know if I can handle being around you alone, Annabel thought.

"You are the one needing protection, not me," was what she said.

"You sure about that? We'll be fine," Callen assured her.

"Any help here, Hetty?" Annabel asked, glancing at the woman between them who was looking rather thoughtful, at least in the limited light, that was what it seemed.

"Mr Callen, are you sure?"

"Yes, Hetty. You know I won't tell them anything. But if they get Kensi and we can't get her back, I won't have a choice."

"Sam?" Hetty asked, turning her head slightly to look behind at him.

"Sam, Kensi needs you," Callen added.

"The apartments are close, right?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, just a couple of buildings apart," Kensi confirmed.

"We won't be far away. If you feel something is wrong, just ring," Grey added his reassurance of the plan to the mix. "Bel, trust yourself. You know your instincts are usually spot on. Sasha was a hiccup, not the norm."

"Fine," Sam agreed. "Then it's only the night that they'll be alone, which tonight won't be that long by the time we get there. We join up at first light at the bigger apartment. Hopefully by the end of the day, we'll have Gibbs joining us, and somewhere better," he continued, though there was a slight reluctance to his tone. He really didn't like the idea of not having G's back. The fact that Annabel certainly seemed to be willing to put herself on the line for him, that it wouldn't be for long, adding to Callen's plea to protect Kensi, helping him make up his mind.

"Although I do not like the idea of splitting up. I'll trust the boys opinion, this time" Hetty agreed, almost as reluctantly as Sam. She couldn't let anything happen to either of her agents and splitting them up may be a way to ensure that they weren't found.

"Why thank you, Hetty," Callen said.

"And Annabel," Hetty turned to face the woman beside her. "I trust you completely," she continued.

Annabel glanced at Callen, who looked across at her briefly, looking pleased with himself. She turned back to Grey who gave her a look. He was finding this amusing, which could only mean one thing. He knew what was going on with her regarding Callen, understood that the reluctance to be alone with him had been personal. There were times when she really hated that he knew her so well, even when she hadn't said a word to him about something. Mind you, she'd known about him and Olivia well before he said anything to either of them. It was just as easy for her to read him as the other way around. She glared at Grey, who just raised his eyebrows at her and continued to smile. She turned away and, in the dark, indulged in a smile herself. Sometimes these small, light, brother sister moments were what got them through the tough missions. Just a hint of fun that was unrelated to the mission, giving them a reprieve, a moment out of time, to just live.

.

By the time they made it to Washington, it was just past midnight. Callen and Annabel were dropped off at their apartment first, taking a brand new phone, a spare set of keys for the car and a small bag of other essential supplies with them. The car would be parked in the other apartment's garage and they knew the codes to get in. It was just on 12.30am when they stepped into the apartment and closed the door.

After giving the apartment a quick security check; being a studio apartment it really didn't take much longer than a look and opening the bathroom door, Annabel turned to Callen. "You know Sam or Hetty should really be here," she said. She really didn't like this

"Hetty doesn't seem to think so. Sam and Grey agreed," Callen reminded her.

"Hetty adores you," Annabel replied with a roll of her eyes. "I'm sure there are times when she thinks you can do no wrong."

"You don't know Hetty then," Callen said with a smile.

"Really?" Annabel raised her eyebrows, curiously. "So get it wrong often?"

"No, not often. But I'm not perfect," Callen said, using her words from this morning. Was it really less than twenty four hours ago that she had told him that as she had walked out of that bedroom? She shook her head at him.

Annabel took at deep breath, ran her fingers through her hair and tried to stretch out the muscles in her arms and shoulders. She groaned at the discomfort and stiffness that was settling back in them.

"God, what I wouldn't give for a shower," she said softly to herself.

"Go have one," Callen said.

Annabel stared at him in disbelief. "I can't protect you if I'm not with you. You're the one who chose to make it just the two of us," she said looking at him as if the idea of her going for a shower now was idiotic.

Callen smiled. "Guess I'll just have to join you," he added as he took a step closer to her.

Annabel didn't know what to say. There was a look in his eyes that was doing strange things to her. "Callen, I - " she managed to stumble over the words before he interrupted.

"Could do with one myself," Callen lied, still walking slowly toward her. It hadn't been that long ago that he'd had one in the motel, and he wasn't feeling stiff and sore like she obviously was.

Annabel watched Callen as he came closer, her mind wandering at the possibilities of what he had suggested.

"We can't," Annabel said softly. She needed to focus. She'd already put him in danger too many times.

"Why not?" Callen asked. Her protest wasn't very strong. He had a feeling that it wouldn't take much for him to get her to agree. But he needed to know something first. "You didn't seem worried about what your boyfriend thought last time."

Annabel frowned at him. "Boyfriend?" she asked, stepping back from him a little, to give her the chance to focus. He'd really confused her with that comment.

"Grey," Callen said, stepping closer. Annabel shook her head in denial. Hope kicked in, that maybe, just maybe, she was free after all. Her reaction certainly hadn't been what Callen would have expected if she was with Grey.

"Grey's not - " Annabel started to say, but stopped at the sound of the door being kicked open.


	24. Chapter 24

_A/N - Waiting is over, at least for the next chapter! _

_Thanks again for the amazing support. You are all awesome and encouraging and inspiring ... Okay, enough rambling and on with the chapter._

_This is my first real attempt at a fight scene so I don't really know how well I've managed to get it, but hopefully you will enjoy. _

_Thanks to angelprincesslilac for running a quick gaze over it and giving me a few tips._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_._

**Chapter 24**

**.**

_Previously :_

_Annabel frowned at him. "Boyfriend?" she asked, stepping back from him a little to give her the chance to focus. He'd really confused her with that comment._

_"__Grey," Callen said, stepping closer. She shook her head. Hope kicked in, that maybe, just maybe, she was free after all. Her reaction certainly hadn't been what he was expecting._

_"Grey's not - " Annabel started but immediately stopped at the sound of the door being kicked open. _

.

.

They both turned quickly and saw something thrown through the open door. Callen threw himself to the floor beside the bed, pulling Annabel down as well. She did come a lot quicker than he expected and he guessed she had the same idea in her head of what they had just witnessed. The moment they were on the floor, they closed their eyes, turning their faces into the floor or the bed and plugged their ears as tightly as they could with their fingers. They felt the blast and then started to get up. Thanks to their quick reactions and their training, the effect was minimal, though Annabel had to focus more on her steps than she would have liked to keep them straight. They moved quickly to the door which had been closed after the stun grenade had been thrown in. Annabel went in front. She had started to move toward the table where their guns were but, as she saw the door start to move open, she changed direction, realising that they didn't have time.

Callen whispered, "Let one in." He was assuming there was more than one. Annabel nodded and moved in closer, behind the opening door. Callen went in a different direction to distract the first one from seeing her. As soon as the first intruder came through, he moved his focus straight to Callen and Annabel kicked the door shut as hard as she could. Hearing a groan, a thud and watching as the door bounced back quickly, she knew she had hit her target.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

_Annabel's fight. Annabel's POV_

Unfortunately the first intruder turned his gun on her and fired. She threw herself to the floor and heard the glass from the picture that had been on the wall, break and rain down, narrowly missing her. Rolling, she got up, only to have her feet taken out from under her by the second intruder, and she impacted hard flat on her back, the air whooshing out of her lungs. There was one perk she loved about being a woman against a man in a fight, especially when she was on the floor and he was standing over her. Not many men were stupid enough to be that vulnerable, but this one was and she took advantage. As he doubled over in pain, she got up quickly and moved closer to continue to take him down. He straightened up before she could and a fist slammed into her stomach taking her breath away yet again. He followed that up, with an attempted blow to the head. She saw it coming and years of training and sparing with Grey and John kicked in, allowing her to avoid, block and retaliate quickly. John and Grey had known her so well, known her weaknesses and pushed her hard to get over them. Especially after she had been caught seven years ago. But this guy was good and she knew that, given everything she had been through, she needed to finish this quickly. A drawn out battle was definitely in her opponent's favour. She caught sight of where her and Callen's gun's were, sitting on the table that was now so close. She deliberately took a blow that would send her falling in that direction. She went down, pulling the gun off the table as she did, narrowly avoiding groaning in pain as she landed more heavily on her left shoulder when she hit the floor. She rolled quickly, putting two bullets in him, before he could pull the trigger on the one he was starting to aim at her. Breathing heavily, she just managed to move out of the way before he could fall on top of her. Her focus moved quickly to Callen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

_Callen's fight's. Callen's POV_

He saw the first one come through, made sure he had his attention. Whilst focusing on him, out of the corner of his eye he saw Annabel slam the door shut. The first intruder turned quickly and fired at her. He saw her duck and a picture on the wall explode as the bullet hit that instead. He dove at the intruder, taking him down. He took a blow to the face as he pulled back in preparation to place his own blow against his assailant, one that knocked him right out. A small sigh of relief escaped that it had been so easy. He stood and turned to glance at Annabel. As he did, the third intruder came through the door and he felt himself crash to the floor again, only this time he was the one being tackled, unfortunately face down. He elbowed the newest assailant in the stomach, which gave him a little wriggle room to turn slightly. He saw the hand raise with the gun in it, and everything seemed to go in slow motion. Except his reactions, they seemed faster than everything else. As the hand holding the gun came swinging for his head, he realised that they wouldn't kill him. They obviously had orders otherwise they would have shot him in the very beginning. However, they had already fired at Annabel which meant she certainly wasn't safe. He stopped the hand easily and managed to dislodge the gun, but the other hand came in quickly catching him in the back of the head. He let out a groan, one mixed with pain, frustration and just a little bit of relief that it was just a fist, not the butt of the gun. He heard two gun shots and his heart skipped a beat at the possibility they had gotten Annabel. Adrenaline surging through him, adding to his strength, he quickly pushed the big man off him and reached for the gun, firing as soon as he had hold of it and pointed in the right direction. At the same time he heard another shot and turned the gun in that direction, just after he saw his assailant go down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

_Back to normal POV_

_._

Annabel saw the bigger man bearing down on Callen again and she raised her gun and fired once more. At the same time she heard more shots and stood up quickly, unsure if there was someone else coming. She froze briefly, as she saw Callen pointing a gun at her. Callen quickly re-aimed at the door once, letting his breath out slowly to calm his racing heart as he realised it was her and she was safe, or at least not shot. Annabel moved quickly, reaching into the bag of essentials that they had brought, only pulling out the cash in there and slipping it into her pocket. She wasn't going to take it with them. Callen was by her side, after having grabbed his gun off the table, by the time she had covered the five steps to the bag and the door.

"Run?" she asked.

"Run," he agreed. They'd barely managed the three. If more were sent, he doubted they would make it. This was a time for running. They moved quickly out into the hall, Callen reached for Annabel's hand and, instinctively they both turned left and ran. Just as they rounded the corner, a door opened next to them. Callen pulled them to an abrupt stop and back through the door. Annabel let go of his hand and closed the door. She pulled out some cash out of her pocket and threw it to the stunned woman. "We were never here." She saw a black jacket hanging on the back of a chair. Glancing down quickly at her light coloured shirt, she reached for it and turned to the woman. "Can I take this?" she asked. The woman nodded and Annabel smiled as she pulled on the jacket, and ran to follow Callen out the fire escape.

Callen had pulled out the phone from his pocket on the way through the apartment. He stopped and dialed the number for Hetty.

"Run!" was all he said when she answered, knowing Hetty knew his voice well. He hung up and threw the phone as hard as he could against the wall. He wasn't taking any chances. He glanced back to see where Annabel was in time to see her pulling a jacket over her shirt as she stepped through the door. Smart move, her shirt was almost like a light in itself. They fled down the fire escape stairs, hoping that no one was waiting at the bottom. They tore through the streets, taking alley and corner and occasionally glancing behind to check for anyone following. They had been on the move for about fifteen minutes, running fast and Callen could hear Annabel's breathing getting heavier, along with his own. He led them into the next alley and, finding a recessed doorway he stopped and pulled her in.

"You okay?" he asked.

She just nodded. He pulled her close and held her, as she rested against him and slowly gained control of her breathing.

Callen had had enough. This was the last time they would run. They couldn't seem to hide safely anywhere, so it was time to fight. He didn't care that he didn't know who he was fighting. He just wasn't going to spend anymore time with his back to them, running away. They needed to be prepared, to stand their ground. That was his next aim. To be ready when they came for him.

"How did they find us?" Annabel asked when she could find enough breath to speak again. "How could they have known?" Her mind was spinning, trying to figure it out. Sasha was gone. She had no idea. She knew it wasn't Grey, knew it wasn't any of Callen's team. She'd seen their reactions, she knew how much they cared about Callen. This was crazy. A nightmare. Maybe if she pinched herself, she'd wake up and they'd still be in the car on their way here.

Callen's mind was going through similar thoughts.

"Don't know," he answered, his breathing starting to return to normal.

"I've got to get you to Grey," Annabel said. "I can't stay with you."

"You're not going anywhere," Callen told her.

"Callen," She lifted her head off his chest and looked at him, not able to see clearly but at least in the dim light, she could see enough. "I told you anything else goes wrong I go," she reminded him.

"Tough," Callen said as he shook his head. "Hetty would kill you if you left me alone."

"Of course she would, which is why I will get you to Grey and then go," Annabel said.

"She'd also kill me, if I let you go. Running isn't getting us anywhere. We need to go after them."

"We don't know-" Annabel started to say. Callen placed a finger on her lips to stop her.

"We find Eric, Abby and Gibbs. We stick to the plan and find out what they know, then we find _them_. Before they get us."

Annabel took a deep steadying breath and nodded slightly.

"How?" Annabel asked.

Callen smiled, pleased that she seemed to be willing to stay for now.

"I can get us to Gibbs, then we work from there," he said.

"What if they're watching Gibbs?" Annabel asked. "They have your files, they'd know you trust him."

"We check first before we approach his place," Callen replied. He knew the area around Gibbs' house well enough. He'd be able to watch and slip them in un-noticed, if it was safe. If it wasn't, then he'd have no choice but to take them to NCIS, compromised or not. Because surely, everyone at the office couldn't be bad.

"I'm sorry," Annabel added softly.

"About?" Callen asked.

"Some bodyguard I turned out to be," she replied. Nothing she had done had kept him safe. Just seemed to push him into more and more danger.

"I'm alive and I'm not in a hospital. Trust me, Annabel, you are doing a great job."

Okay, so he was a little more beaten up than earlier, but then so was she. He figured by comparison, they were still pretty much on the same terms as earlier in the evening - meaning she'd taken way too much protecting him. He wondered if there was a way he could stop her getting hurt anymore. Maybe when they found Gibbs and had some back up, he could get Hetty to order her to stay out of it.

"Yeah?" she asked, her tone full of disbelief.

"Yeah. No bullet holes, no knife wounds. Barely any damage, so better than I've ever been," Callen said.

Annabel laughed softly. "But you are bleeding," she said as she gently wiped away some blood from his lip with her thumb. He smiled at the softness to her touch.

Annabel took another calming breath.

"I don't know anything anymore, Callen. Everything has gone wrong. It doesn't make sense. Mitch must be working for someone big. That's the only reasonable explanation," she said.

"Then let's find him and take him down."

Annabel looked up at him. In the dim light, Callen saw the confusion, doubt and the pain that flickered across her face. He cupped her face and moved his head closer to her, intending to reassure her that they could do this, but when her gaze flicked to his mouth and then back to his eyes, his thoughts changed.

"Who is Grey?" Callen asked earnestly. He needed to know.

"My brother," Annabel answered softly.

She barely had the words out of her mouth when she felt his crash down on hers. Heated would be a rather weak way to describe that kiss. Annabel couldn't be entirely sure who it was from, but she heard a moan escape one of them, a rather passionate one and she was partly afraid yet partly thrilled that it was from her. She couldn't seem to keep control of her reactions when he kissed her; any of the times. Even with everything that was going on, the mixed up emotions, confusion, betrayal, she knew what was happening with her. She knew what she feeling for him and she couldn't stop it growing. She just desperately hoped that this time, it wasn't a mistake, that she hadn't fallen for someone who wasn't worthy. Her arms found their way around his neck, whilst one of his slid down to her waist pulling her closer to him. Neither felt the pain from their injuries; her ribs, her shoulder, his lip, back of his head. None of it registered. There was nothing except the kiss.

Callen pulled back and rested his forehead against hers, breathing even more heavily than he had been after their recent escape.

"Been wondering what that would be like again," he said.

"What?" Annabel whispered, her mind still not quite with it.

"Kissing you without worrying about the boyfriend," Callen replied.

Annabel smiled, not that he could see it. Her mind might not be working properly at the moment, but the side of her that was cheeky had never really needed that to function.

"How do you know I don't have one?" she asked.

Callen lifted his head, his hand gently tilted her head up to him and his eyes narrowed at her.

"Do you?" he almost growled. After everything he'd just been through thinking she was Grey's.

"No," Annabel whispered. This time she kissed him, doing her best to make sure that, somehow through the kiss, he understood there was no one else.

"So, how do we find Gibbs?" she asked when she pulled back. They needed to focus.

"Grab a cab, I know where to go," Callen said.

"Let's hope we've got enough cash," Annabel said.

Callen slipped his arm around her shoulders and guided them out of the doorway and down the alley, keeping them in the shadows. At the end of the alley, he looked around and found that he was familiar with where they were. Taking her hand, they stepped out and he steered them in the right direction to find a cab. They had enough cash and Callen got them to a few blocks from Gibbs' house and they walked the rest of the way, still keeping to the shadows.

"Will he be home?" Annabel asked.

"Don't know." Callen hoped so. He guided them to a place across from Gibbs' house and as they kept out of sight, he watched, waiting for signs of movement or life coming from the house, or around it.

"Could he be asleep?" Annabel asked.

Callen hadn't even thought about the time. He glanced at his watch. 1.37am.

"At this time, he should be," he replied. "We'll go in round the back," he added quietly as he took her hand and went back the way they had come, taking them to the block behind Gibbs' house and coming in from the house behind. Quietly picking the lock on the back door, after having spent a few minutes observing again, Callen and Annabel stepped into the familiar house that Callen knew well, and sometimes, on the odd occasion, had even considered home.


	25. Chapter 25

_A/N - Thanks for all the great reviews on the last chapter. That was really encouraging and seriously helped me sort out the editing on this chapter, which has been a rather hard chapter to get right. So here goes nothing. Hoping it is good, but it's so far off what I usually enjoy writing. But then so is this story - romantic at heart that I am ;-) But life is full of challenges and since this is a self imposed one, I've only got myself to blame. And all of you who are reading to thank for making this story so rewarding to write, even with it being a challenge._

_Oh and it's a long chapter, longest one yet I believe, so maybe time for a cuppa or something.  
_

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_._

**Chapter 25**

**.**

Hetty looked at her phone as it rang. They had just walked into the apartment, barely having time to close the door. All knew it would be Callen or Annabel, no one else had the number.

"Yes?" The tension filling the room could also be heard in that one word that Hetty said. They all waited anxiously to hear the reply, Hetty having answered it directly to speaker.

"Run!" came Callen's voice, before the call was cut off.

For a brief moment, they all stared at each other.

Sam shook his head. "No more running, Hetty," he said as he pulled out his gun and moved to stand by the door, ready. Kensi and Grey followed, Grey pulling Hetty behind him, as they took up defensive positions.

"Sam," Kensi said, her eyes still on the door, "what if they're only after Callen? Not like they've had an easy time getting both of us."

"You think we should go and see?" Grey asked. Kensi had a point. Sasha's comments had suggested that whoever it was, seemed to be particularly interested in Callen.

"If Callen's already running, they're probably following. There might be something left behind to tell us who's doing this," Kensi replied.

There was a small thought that went through Grey's mind that perhaps Callen was running on his own. They hadn't heard Bel on the phone. If she had been taken down, knocked unconscious, maybe she was still in the apartment.

"I agree," Sam said, itching to find G and have them all back together.

"Grey?"

Grey turned to Kensi again. "Is Annabel all right?" she asked.

Grey nodded. "She's alive at least."

Sam looked at Kensi and frowned, confused by her question. The look made Kensi realise that Sam didn't know about Grey and Annabel. She briefly wondered if Callen did.

"Annabel and Grey are twins. They have a freaky thing where they know when the other is in trouble."

Sam turned to Grey, curious.

Grey shrugged. "Don't ask me how it works, just does." He could feel when she was hurt badly or in trouble. Knew when she was dead, a feeling he'd felt once and hoped never to feel again. "Shall we go get this, whatever this is, started?" Grey asked, pulling himself away from that memory.

They all agreed. Grey kept Hetty behind him, as Kensi slipped in between him and Sam. Sam carefully opened the door and checked outside. It all seemed clear.

"Keep the girls in the middle," Sam said, briefly turning his head to Grey as he did.

Hetty smiled at the protective tone from Sam. That, and being called a girl at her age was an interesting compliment. Grey maneuvered Hetty in front and then they were on their way.

It only took them a couple of minutes to get out of their building, run down the almost empty street, and get into the one they had left Annabel and Callen at, barely ten minutes ago. Hetty had no trouble keeping up with the others, though she did notice Sam and Grey shorten their stride just a little, which only encouraged her to pick up her pace. She was exceptionally fast for someone so short and, well not old as such, but she was definitely older than the rest of them.

They arrived at the apartment door to see the lock broken and the door slightly ajar. Sam glanced around at them all, his gaze pausing for just a bit longer on Hetty than the others. He was still having a little trouble seeing Hetty with a gun. Not that he hadn't before, but usually Hetty's weapons were just when she was showing off around the office and they were usually something that definitely looked funny, whilst still dangerous, in her hands, because they tended to be bigger than her. But now, he was seeing a different side of her with a appropriately sized hand gun, and she was holding it just as comfortably and dangerously as G would have been.

Nodding to Grey after a quick check of their surroundings, Sam and Grey went in first, Kensi and Hetty following quickly. They all stopped at the sight in front of them, until a groan came from one of the bodies on the floor. All guns shifted focus to the sound, as Sam went closer to secure their lead. They checked the other two bodies to find them dead, both with two bullets buried in them.

"Grey," Hetty called as she pointed. They turned and looked to see the remains of a grenade in the middle of the room. From the lack of damage, they all assumed it had been one to stun, not kill.

"They put up a hell of fight," Kensi said, taking note of the displaced furniture, shattered picture and the three assailants who had been taken down in some way.

"Won by the looks of it," Sam added. "If someone had taken them, I doubt they would have left his guy behind," Sam commented as he pulled the, still mostly out of it, man to his feet and threw him on the couch. "I wouldn't move, and I'd start talking, cause I'm not worried about putting bullets in you. I'm pretty sure I can get a few in at least without killing you," Sam said to him when he started to get up. He, whoever he was, promptly sat back down again, after noticing the dead body on the floor and the four people surrounding him.

Hetty walked up beside Sam, as Kensi and Grey continued to cover them.

"Riddling him with bullets will not be necessary," Hetty said. "I'm sure we can convince him to tell us what we need to know, in a … civilised fashion."

"I won't tell you anything," the man protested.

Sam stepped forward angrily, stopping only when Hetty placed a firm, restraining hand on his arm. A small hand that was a lot more effective at stopping Sam than anything.

"Allow me," Hetty said. Sam raised his eyebrows in question. Hetty nodded.

"All yours," Sam replied as he stepped back. Kensi looked at him. Sam shrugged and Grey's lips tilted in a lopsided, knowing smile, causing both Kensi and Sam to frown and wonder what had caused that.

"What? Never seen her get information out of someone?" Grey asked.

Both Kensi and Sam shook their heads. "Nope, she usually just knows."

Hetty turned to Kensi, "Pillowcases please," Hetty asked her. She turned back to the man on the couch and folded her arms across her chest as she waited patiently for Kensi to follow her request. "I do apologise for this next part. I never was fond of tying up my victims. Sorry. Detainees."

Sam bit back a laugh at Hetty's words. Hetty never slipped like that. This was deliberate. In the midst of all the drama and worry, Sam had a feeling he was going to enjoy whatever was coming from Hetty next.

Kensi returned with the six pillowcases that she had managed to get off the bed and from the cupboard, having been unsure how many Hetty had actually wanted. Hetty handed them to Grey, who proceeded to tie up the man's feet and hands, securing the feet, at least, to the legs of the couch.

Hetty then went and sat down next to him. Sam and Kensi, both incredibly nervous about how close she was to him, tensed and stepped closer.

"Now, what is it I want to know first?" Hetty mused, her head tilted slightly as she looked at the man sitting restrained next to her. "Who you work for? What happened here that killed your two associates? Who or what exactly you were after? Where you were going to take them? What should I do with you?"

Hetty paused for a moment and looked her detainee in the eye. "Perhaps we'll start with a name. You are..."

Hetty waited. The man didn't say anything, just looked back at her stubbornly. Fury raged through her. Here was a link to Callen and Annabel. Two people who were precious to her and he wasn't co-operating. Ensuring her face was set in a calm, yet menacing and determined fashion she stood up, taking a step away from him.

"Well, if that is the response to a simple question about your name, I guess there is no point. Grey. Knee would be good spot, not life threatening, but rather painful."

Grey stepped forward, aiming the gun in the direction Hetty requested, but before he could pull the trigger the man responded.

"Jo," rushed out of his lips. Hetty smiled and nodded to Grey. Grey stepped back. Kensi and Sam had a feeling that Grey had perhaps even participated in previous incidents similar to this with Hetty, as his response to her command was smooth, with no hesitation.

"That wasn't so hard was it," Hetty praised Jo, as she sat back down next to him and patted his knee in a grandmotherly type fashion, which was such a startling contrast to the vibe she had been putting off just moments before. Kensi and Sam saw the shock and confusion that Jo couldn't hide at the turn around.

"Jo, such a nice, simple, wholesome name. Now, tell me. Why are you here?" Hetty asked.

No response.

Hetty let out quiet yet exasperated sigh. "Do we have to do this with every question? Really, Jo. A few simple answers; no pain, no harm and you'll be able to walk out of this room."

"You're going to let me go?" Jo asked.

"I said walk out of the room, not let you go," Hetty replied, still in that eerily calm voice. "You just tried to kidnap or kill a federal agent or two. Quite frankly, you'll be lucky if you leave prison on your feet given the length of jail time you are looking at. Most likely, you'll have your eyes closed and be in a body bag. However, co-operate, answer a few questions and you might get out in time to retire somewhere quiet in the country, whilst you still have some life left to enjoy the peace and fresh air." So maybe that was a slight exaggeration on the jail term he was facing, but, unless Jo was well versed in jail terms, Hetty doubted he would realise that.

Hetty paused for a long moment, giving what she had just said time to sink in. "Now, why are you here?" Hetty asked again.

"Just a job. We didn't know he was a federal agent," Jo added in his defense.

"So you were just here for him?" The question slipped out before Sam knew he was even speaking. "Sorry," he apologised when Hetty looked at him.

"As my colleague has asked an appropriate question, please answer," Hetty said as she turned back to Jo.

"Yes, just the guy," Jo replied.

"What were you going to do with the girl?" Grey asked, his voice sounding incredibly angry, as he stepped up close.

"Take her out if we had to," Jo replied, his response seeming to slip out without much thought.

"No!" Hetty warned as Grey raised his hand that was holding his gun. "Enough."

Hetty turned back to Jo, after a barely perceptible smile at Grey. Sam glanced at him as Grey stepped back. Grey winked at Sam and Kensi, leaving them both wondering exactly what kind of events these two had shared in their history. This whole interrogation almost had a rehearsed feel to it.

"I apologise," Hetty said, "but you see, he gets rather protective of his women. Honestly, the things he has done because someone glanced at them the wrong way." Hetty faked a shudder. She saw the look change in Jo's eyes at the image she had painted of Grey in his mind; that Grey was even tougher and nastier than she was. "Brings shivers even to my spine, just thinking about it. So, unless you would like me to hand over this inter-" Hetty stopped and cleared her throat, before continuing, "discussion to him, don't play around. Answer the question, don't make me ask twice and we'll all leave happy. Who do you work for?"

Jo glanced between Hetty and Grey, swallowing nervously at the menacing look Grey had returned to his face, and the way Grey was fingering his scar and looking at Jo's face, like he was contemplating putting a matching one on him.

Kensi and Sam were just watching on in awe. Jo hadn't even looked at them except when Sam had asked the question, being entirely focused on the two who seemed to be effectively terrifying him with eerie calmness and orders, and menacing looks.

"I don't know," Jo answered. "We're just guns for hire. Someone called a few hours ago, told us to come here or another place. They gave us a description of the guy they wanted. Told us to grab him, get rid of anyone else and take him to a hotel across town. Told us if we had him there before daybreak, there would be a hundred grand waiting for us on the bed."

A hundred grand? The figure went flashing through Sam and Kensi's mind. They knew there were people out there that would love to get their hands on Callen, but throwing a hundred grand to some guns you'd never met? Who obviously weren't as good as they thought. It reeked of something big, someone big. Someone who was extremely serious in wanting Callen.

"You didn't get a name?" Hetty asked.

Jo shook his head.

"Where were you to take him?"

When the response didn't come quick enough, Hetty turned her head to Grey.

"It's on my phone," Jo rushed out. "along with a number we were supposed to call once we were there. This was supposed to be simple. Especially when he was just with the woman. Damn, she was good. One kick of the door and she had one of my guys down on the floor."

Grey held back a smile at that, remembering the fun of teaching Bel, in her early days at MI6, how to get the power into the kick from such a confined space behind a door to a moving target, and the one time where she'd completely broken it off the hinges and shattered the surrounding frame.

Jo continued. "Moved quick too. I missed."

Grey almost went for him then. His reactions to his missing sister, gaining the upper hand over the controlled but menacing aura he was supposed to be putting out for Hetty. A shake of Hetty's head stopped him.

"Which pocket?" Hetty asked.

"Top left, inside the jacket," Jo answered as he turned his body slightly to let her access it easier.

Hetty smiled and shook her head. "Do you really believe I am that gullible? That I am stupid enough to reach into your pocket myself? I have spent years around people more cunning than someone like you could ever hope to be like." Hetty stood up and stepped away from Jo, who was now looking even more nervous.

"Gentleman, if you please. Check every possible place for information. I have a phone call to make."

Hetty stepped over one of the bodies on the floor, away from where Grey and Sam were searching Jo thoroughly, whilst Kensi stood over them, gun at the ready. Dialing a number she had memorised before leaving the office a few days ago, she held her phone to her ear and turned to watch her team as she waited.

"Gibbs," came the terse, yet very much awake, response.

"Agent Gibbs, this is Hetty. I am need your assistance," Hetty said.

"Hetty," Gibbs breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you all right?"

"In a manner of speaking, though we are missing a few from our original party. I need you to bring a team of those you can trust to where we are. We have some bodies that need taking care of," Hetty informed him as her gaze ran over said bodies, a small ripple of fear going through her at how easily those bodies could have been those of Callen and Annabel.

"Got it Hetty," Sam said triumphantly, as he pulled out the phone from the right inner pocket of Jo's jacket. Hetty nodded.

"Where?" Gibbs asked. Hetty gave him the address. "Is there anything else you need? Are Callen and Kensi with you?"

"Kensi is. Callen, we are currently unsure of his whereabouts," Hetty answered, a small amount of weariness coming through in her voice.

"Is he alone?" Gibbs asked.

"As far as we know he is still with Annabel. How did Eric go?" Hetty enquired, not actually wanting to ask the question of whether he had made it to them. She would assume that he had, because if he hadn't … Well she didn't want to think about that.

"We're all clear, Hetty," came Eric's voice. A voice that she had never expected to find soothing, but she felt a great deal of tension leave her, knowing he had made it safely to them. Eric continued. "It was a plant, they didn't do it. The files were sent to Keelson. The email was never opened. I've deleted it from the server."

Keelson? That suggested this might be connected to Callen's past. Keelson had found out so much about him, had tempted Callen with that information. Except Keelson had gone about it the wrong way and Callen hadn't given in. There had been too much at stake and Callen was a better man than Keelson had counted on.

"Well done, Eric," Hetty congratulated him sincerely. "Now, we have a problem, Callen and Annabel are missing. This is there last known location. We have a suspect that perhaps Agent Gibbs would like to continue to question. Have you had any luck figuring out who might be behind this?" Hetty asked as she looked at Sam and urged him over with the phone.

"Not yet, Hetty," Eric replied. "But I called Graham. He's on his way here. Vance had a letter from someone claiming to know about The Twelve and Callen's connection, warning us to protect him."

Hetty briefly closed her eyes. She had been holding onto a small amount of hope that this wasn't Twelve related. She opened her eyes and looked at Sam, who was now in front of her.

"Do we have an address, Sam?" she asked.

Sam shook his head.

"Oh bother. I dislike mess. Excuse me a moment," Hetty said politely to Eric and Gibbs on the phone. She walked over to Jo, held the phone close enough to his face and pointed the gun right between his legs. "No more. Nice is over. Tell me where, or I put a bullet in an extremely vulnerable and painful part of your body. One chance. The truth. Because a lie will end up with the same effect, just delivered a little later." This time Hetty let the fury and rage at the situation, and the man sitting in front of her, come fully into her tone and her face.

Jo rattled off an address, his face going even paler as Hetty spoke and looked at him, gun held steady and so close, that there was no way she would miss. Hetty's voice told him she was extremely serious; potentially deadly serious.

"Did you get that?" Hetty asked, bringing the phone back to her ear.

"Got it," Eric replied. Hetty could hear the keys tapping furiously as Eric started doing what Eric does when he gets a piece of information; find out more. She could only hope that this lead would give them something more to go on than an address.

"Send someone there, but be careful," Hetty ordered. "It was supposed to be the pick up point for Callen."

Sam held up the phone, showing a number.

Hetty told it to Eric and added, "Trace the calls, see what you come up with."

"We're on our way, Hetty," Gibbs advised. "Twenty minutes max."

"I look forward to it," Hetty replied and disconnected the call.

"Sam, would you do the honours?" Hetty asked him with a tilt of her head toward Jo. "I really don't think we need our detainee conscious anymore."

"With pleasure," Sam said as he stepped closer to Jo.

"But-"

"It's one or the other and I don't think you want the other," Hetty said as she glanced at Grey.

Jo gulped nervously and Sam did what he had to do, Jo slumping on the couch, unconscious.

"You've done this before with her, haven't you?" Kensi asked Grey as she relaxed her hold slightly on her gun and lowered her arm.

Grey grinned and nodded. "A few times."

"She always this effective?" Sam asked.

Grey shrugged and looked over at Hetty. "Actually, this wasn't her best performance."

Kensi looked at Sam. "So why don't we just let Hetty do all the interrogations? She messes with their heads so well."

They both glanced at Hetty, who smiled and replied, "Because then your pay would need to be cut in half. And personally, I prefer 'messing with your heads' rather than anyone else's."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Seventeen minutes later, Gibbs walked through the door to the apartment, with four other agents, behind him to secure the scene. The agents weren't from his usual team. He still hadn't called in Ziva or Tony, and McGee was still helping Abby and Eric back at the office.

"Hetty? What happened here?" Gibbs asked as he looked over the rest of the team standing around her, pleased to see the lack of injuries.

Hetty felt an unexpected relief at the sight of Gibbs. She didn't have a lot of experience working with him, but she knew from Callen and Leon that he was an extremely capable agent and somehow, knowing he was here, working with them, relieved a lot of the weight that had been resting on her shoulders for the last few days.

"Callen and Annabel put up a fight and ran. We don't know where. We were at another apartment for the night a couple of buildings down. We'd only just arrived there when Callen called and told us to run," Hetty replied.

"Which you didn't exactly do," Gibbs assumed. "Him?" Gibbs nodded to the unconscious man on the couch. The one who had obviously given them the information over the phone just before. "Do you think he knows more?"

"Probably," Hetty replied. "I'll leave that up to you to get out of him though." Whilst Hetty was effective at getting information out of suspects, it was a part of the job she was generally pleased to leave up to others. The earlier session having taken it's toll on her emotional control that she usually prided herself on. It always did, which is why it was only on rare occasions that she allowed herself to do it. Such as before.

"Is there anything we can take from here that would tell us where they went, or how they are?" Gibbs asked, looking around the room, noticing the broken picture and displaced tables.

Kensi stepped over and stood next to Gibbs. "We've check around, haven't touched anything, but we don't think either of them were shot. The bullets in the bodies and the wall match, number-wise, with the casings on the floor. And the blood seems to match with the bodies."

"That's something at least," Gibbs agreed. "How about we get you lot back to the office?"

Aside from the fact that they looked shattered, he wasn't liking having them out here, in the open, when there was the possibility there was someone after them, especially given the information that he had recently acquired on this group of Twelve. Anyone who would go up against them, and the protection that was available to them, had to be extremely well resourced.

"I know there is one particular agent who is desperately waiting to see all of you," Gibbs continued, thinking of Eric and the look that he had caught on his face as they had walked out of MTAC on their way here. He had wanted to come, but knew that he was better off in the office, continuing working on whatever he could find.

They all nodded and started toward the door.

"No one comes in who isn't us. Ducky should be here soon to collect the bodies," Gibbs ordered two of the men. "You two," he pointed to the others, "get him back to the office, then get back here."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

"Guys!" Eric exclaimed, when he turned and saw them walking through the door to MTAC. He jumped out of his seat and, uncharacteristically, rushed over and hugged the three of them. Sam chuckled slightly at Eric's actions but accepted it. He'd been a little worried about Eric, though he hadn't been willing to admit it.

"Eric," Kensi squeaked out. "Let me breathe." Eric stepped back, a blush on his face.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"I didn't mind the hug, but so far, I've survived being shot at and jumping out of a soon to be exploding plane. I really don't want to have a hug do me in," Kensi teased lightly.

Eric turned to Hetty. She smiled at him and willing returned his hug. "Well done, Eric."

"Thanks Hetty."

"Eric," Hetty said, turning slightly in the direction of the man Eric was yet to met. "I'd like you to met Grey Mason, MI6. Though I am sure you already know of him if you have contacted Graham."

Eric nodded to Grey, who smiled back. "Thanks for protecting her," Eric said, tilting his head to Kensi. The video shoot out in the car park from LA, still fresh in his mind.

Grey nodded and smiled at Eric."Any luck finding anything on Callen or Bel?" he asked, concern coming into his voice.

Eric shook his head. "Not yet, but we're running street cameras and everything we can get from around there, trying to catch their escape. But being dark, it makes it harder to get a match."

Eric turned and headed back to the computers. They followed close behind. Abby turned and smiled at them.

"Welcome back guys," she said briefly before turning her focus back to the computer. She felt like she was almost on to something and that meant her usual excited hello's were on the back burner for now.

Sam and Kensi gave her a grateful smile, knowing she would have been working just as hard to help Eric out with this. They remembered their brief introduction to her with the Phantom case. Crazy, but brilliant Abby. Definitely someone you wanted on your side.

"Where would they go?" Gibbs asked. "Hetty, you know her. What would they do?"

Hetty turned to Grey.

"Bel will trust Callen. She's not familiar with the city, so she'll follow his lead getting around. As for what she would do, I'm not entirely sure right now. I would suspect that she's looking for a way to get him safely to me. She was doubting everything so much before, this will just have made that worse. But the biggest problem, if Kensi was right and they've given up on getting her, is that if Mitch gets them and figures out what's going on between those two, he'll hand them both over and they'll have what they originally wanted anyway."

"What do you mean?" asked Gibbs frowning.

"There is nothing going on between them," Sam added.

"Are you blind?" Grey asked, turning to Sam. "He's your partner and you can't see it? Callen cares for Bel. Now I don't know him like you do, but I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't on his way to falling in love with her," Grey replied.

"Callen? In love?" Gibbs shook his head. "How long has he known her? A couple of days? That's not the kind of thing Callen does," he added. It had been a long time since Callen had fallen for anyone. Gibbs had a feeling Callen had shut down that side on himself a long time ago. He'd dated, but that was rare in itself. Never anything serious either, and rarely lasting much more than a month

"Look," Grey said, "I know Bel is in love with him. I've seen it before. I know her well."

Bel had only been in love twice. Once when she was sixteen. The moment she had seen the new guy, Tom, walk into the classroom, Grey knew. He saw it in her eyes, felt it; that freaky connection between the two of them when something big happened. And he hadn't liked it at all. Bel had eventually turned on him and told him if he didn't stop interferring she'd never speak to him again. He'd been trying to keep them apart, and doing a pretty good job of it. The look in her eyes had told him she was completely serious. So he'd stepped back. Watched as the love story unfolded. Tom was a great guy, and he loved Bel. Never hurt her once. It hadn't surprised Grey when six years later, Tom had stopped by his place and asked if it was okay for him to ask Bel to marry him. He'd agreed, so had their father, who Tom had already braved asking. What had surprised them was the phone call they had received late, on the night they knew Tom was planning on proposing. Bel had been frantic. She was at the hospital. Tom had collapsed and she didn't know what was going on. Unfortunately, that love story didn't have a happy ending. Tom had cancer, It had hit Tom hard and fast. Hit Bel hard too, as she'd stayed by his side for the next two months, taking unpaid leave from work to be with him around the clock, watching him go downhill more everyday. Eventually, Tom had told Bel that he'd been planning on asking her to marry him. They'd ended up married shortly after that. Two weeks later Tom was gone and Bel was devastated.

No one touched her heart again until six years later. Daniel. The one who had swept her off her feet, romanced her, gave her everything except the one thing she'd needed. Someone to support her, help her get out of the hell she went through after the torture. Someone to be there for her, like she'd been there for Tom. But Daniel hadn't been the right man for the job. He'd wanted a pretty girl on his arm, one that didn't require much work. Bel didn't fit that description anymore. Now, she needed him, but he didn't want her. Bel had tried to talk to Daniel, but he hadn't really listened and she noticed. Daniel had walked away the first time she'd panicked, the first time he'd seen the terror in her eyes after she'd fallen asleep on the couch and woken up from a nightmare that, even though she was awake, still played out in front of her eyes, keeping her from truly knowing where she was. Daniel didn't come back. He hadn't had the guts to tell Bel to her face that it was over between them, he'd just called and left a message. That nightmare was one of the few moments Grey would never forget, because he'd felt it. It had been the first time he'd felt her terror from that time. When the torture had been happening, he'd only felt pain. Nothing like she would have experienced, but pain it had been; strong it had been and it had scared him like nothing had before. Until that night. It had taken him five minutes to make his way to her apartment that night. A normally fifteen minute drive away but the moment the fear had hit him, he was in his car, breaking speed limits, running red lights, driving on the wrong side of the road. He didn't care. Everything was simply about getting to her as fast as he could. He'd found her screaming in terror on the floor in her living room, a full blown nightmare and panic attack all in one. It had taken him an hour to get her to stop screaming, another couple of hours before the shaking had subsided and she'd fallen into a fitful sleep in his arms. Bel didn't know it but he'd confronted Daniel a few days later. It had taken everything in him, and the firm grip of their friend, Marcus, not to snap his neck when he'd first laid eyes on Daniel. Even now, the image of Bel shaking, screaming, pale and eyes wide was still burned into his mind. He'd made sure Daniel knew that if he ever contacted Bel again, he would indeed rip his head right off his shoulders.

"How?" Gibbs asked, pulling Grey back from his thoughts.

"She's my twin," Grey answered. "Now, whether she'll admit it to anyone is a completely different story, but she is and she will do anything to protect him. But Mitch will see it too. Right now, I'm sure Bel is tired, confused and scared. Everything has gone wrong and she feels responsible. She's never faced anything like this, with all the betrayal that's happened."

It was bad enough in him, the betrayal of Sasha and Mitch, but for Bel it was so much more personal and heart-wrenching.

"She's not responsible," Hetty assured him.

"I know," Grey agreed. "But that's what she'll be feeling. Adding to that, what happened with John is going to be tearing her apart, along with everything about Zoe coming up again. Bel's going to be having a hard time hiding her feelings right now. Everything else will still be working. The processes, the fighting, what to do. The agent role. It's been so ingrained in her, instinct will kick in and she'll do what's for the best, even if it means stepping back and following Callen, because she doesn't trust herself anymore. But emotionally, she is going to be like a childrens book. It's going to be so simple for anyone to see what she is feeling."

Which put them all back to trying to get into Callen's head.

"So what would Callen do?" Kensi asked.

"Find them somewhere safe, keep them moving until he could," Hetty replied.

On the move it would be harder for anyone to hone in on them. Hetty knew Callen could keep moving for a long time, she wasn't so sure about Annabel at the moment though. But she was confident that as long as they were together, they would take care of each other. She had seen some of what Grey had suggested, in the way Callen had turned protective of Annabel over the last few days. The look in his eyes, when he watched her that night, talking about the time Hetty had first met her. The way Callen had been drawn to her when she had gone back to the house, when she'd run up stairs after discovering Mitch was behind it and she'd left the necklace behind. The lack of hesitation getting out of the van at the gas station, and the way he wouldn't let her leave them, had told her he was going with her. It might not be love, though both of them deserved to find something as wonderful as that, but there was a connection, and he did care about her.

"Got something," came Eric's call from the computers. They turned and stepped over as Eric pulled up some street camera footage.

"Abby did a special search which has found two people running, fast," Eric said, zooming in on the screen, after a quick glance and grin at Abby. "They're sticking to the shadows and alleyways. It's not easy to tell, but they started just out the back of the building they were in, so I'm following to see if we can get a clearer shot and I.D them."

"Where are they now?" Gibbs asked starting to walk to the door, Sam and Kensi moving to follow. Grey reached out and put a hand on Kensi's shoulder, stopping her. Kensi just looked at him, raising her eyebrows and glancing at his hand, daring him to stop her going with Gibbs.

"Give me a minute, I'm still trying to catch up." Eric typed away and Gibbs waited, patiently, because he really didn't want another Abby glare today.

"Got them. They stepped into the light for bit. Definitely Callen. Is that her?"

Grey stepped closer to the screen. "Yeah, that's her," he agreed, relief flooding him that she looked unharmed.

"So, Eric, where are they?" Gibbs asked not bothering to hide his impatience this time.

"They've just gotten into a cab. Still playing catch up and working on it, okay." Eric's frustration at being so close, yet still far behind, coming through in his tone to Gibbs.

Hetty smiled slightly, knowing that their normal Eric, would never have consciously used that tone with Gibbs, or with her. It showed her just how much this was affecting Eric, something which, in an odd way pleased her. Eric was the one in the office, behind the scenes, on the computer and in their ear. She'd sometimes wondered if that had made Eric feel slightly less a part of the team, but she was reassured now, that wasn't the case.

"Cab?" Kensi frowned. "Callen's got somewhere in mind to go," Kensi replied. "Where would he be taking her?"

"My place," Gibbs said as realisation sunk in that Callen would trust him more than anything else in this city. He was slightly disappointed in himself to have not thought of that sooner. Gibbs turned, ran up the stairs and out the door. Sam, Kensi and Grey followed quickly and had easily caught him, stepping into the elevator at the same time Gibbs did.

"You move quick," Gibbs commented as he glanced at Kensi and Sam standing on his left.

"It's G," Sam said. "We can move faster if you can." Sam raised his eyebrows and Gibbs was sure that Sam had narrowly avoided adding 'old man' to that sentence.

"You?" Gibbs glanced at Grey.

Grey turned his green eyes on Gibbs. Green eyes that showed the worry and concern that the younger, yet taller man felt for the two people they were trying to find. Even with the words that followed, Gibbs could tell that Grey was also concerned about Callen.

"She's my sister. Move faster," Grey replied firmly.

The elevator dinged, doors slid open and move faster, they did. As they got into the car, Gibbs' phone rang.

"Gibbs," he answered abruptly, pulling out of the parking space as he did, expertly steering the car one handed.

"Cab dropped them off two blocks from your place about twenty minutes ago. Good luck."

"Thanks Abs." He hung up and tossed his phone to Sam, who was in the front next to him.

"Twenty minutes ago they were near my place. Let's hope they're still there. Start dialing," Gibbs ordered as he rattled off his home number. There was no answer, but the machine picked up.

"Leave a message," came his abrupt answering machine message. Sam glanced at Gibbs who nodded.

"G. Come on, pick up …. Man, where are you?" Sam asked and waited. "You know if you are there and aren't picking up, there is going to be hell to pay."

"Hang up," Gibbs said. "He'd have picked up by now if he could." Gibbs floored the accelerator and there was an uneasy silence until they arrived at his house, less than ten minutes later.

Hurrying out of the car, guns drawn, they made their way into the house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

_A/N 2 - Just in case you are wondering, the information we now have on Annabel puts her age at approximately 35._

_Hope you like it.  
_


	26. Chapter 26

_A/N - Thanks so much for the positive response regarding the last chapter. Really pleased that so many of you liked Hetty's interrogation. So here's the next chapter. Chapter 27 has a far amount of work to be done on the editing but hopefully I'll get a bit of time to focus on it over the next few days. Hope you enjoy this one._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_._

**Chapter 26**

.

_Callen and Annabel - Gibbs' House_

_._

They stepped quietly into the house, listening carefully for any other sound of movement. The slight scent of wood in the air, reassuring Callen. That smell he associated with the security that was Gibbs. They checked downstairs by the desk light from the living room that was always on at night. Callen made his way up the stairs, Annabel following close behind, both with guns drawn. He paused just at the bottom to whisper quietly to her, "Skip the fourth step, it creaks."

It always had, and most likely always would. A forewarning for Gibbs that someone was coming up the stairs. Callen made his way to the bedroom; the most likely place that Gibbs would be at this time of the morning.

Annabel put her hand on his arm, as he reached for the door handle. Callen turned and looked at her in the dim light from the night light that was plugged in halfway down the hall.

"Are you sure he won't shoot you if you walk into his bedroom?" Annabel asked in a hushed tone that only just made it to his ears. "He's got to be a little bit worried and on edge because of you, right?"

Callen chuckled softly. She actually wasn't that far from the truth. Gibbs would be on edge, he'd also have a gun in reach. But Gibbs wouldn't shoot until he knew who it was, unless of cause, the barrel of a gun was pointed at him. He lowered the hand that was holding his gun. "You want to go first?" Callen asked her.

Annabel moved closer to the door, ready to take over. Her body brushing slightly against his as she had moved in front of him. Callen stopped her and moved her back away from the door. "I was joking," he told her. "He won't shoot me, unless there is something you're not telling me, like your his niece or something. Then I might be in trouble."

Callen watched as Annabel frowned in confusion. He smiled as, despite their situation, he slipped his arm around her waist, sliding it under the jacket she was wearing and pulled her close. His senses were still alert for any sound of movement or anything unusual as he did, but that didn't stop him enjoying and taking in the sensations of having her so close. His fingers lightly stroked her back where they rested, feeling the material move under his fingers and the heat from her skin radiating through it.

"He might not like where my thoughts head to when it comes to you," Callen said in a low tone that was designed to send her thoughts in the same direction. He wanted this nightmare to stop, wanted some time, somewhere safe and quiet where he didn't have to listen or watch over their shoulders. Some time to get to know her, not to just be running by her side.

"Oh," Annabel let out softly, grateful that in the dim light, the blush that heated, not only her face but the rest of her body, wouldn't be noticed.

Callen let her go, sliding his hand reluctantly away from her, and reached again for the the door handle, keeping his gun lowered. Annabel returned her focus back to her surroundings and what was happening there, rather than the temptation that was Callen.

Turning the handle slowly, Callen opened the door and slipped in, not even the sound of his footsteps breaking the silence. Annabel waited just outside the door, eyes flicking between the top of the stairwell, the bedroom and the rest of the hall.

The blinds were open and it was easy to see that there was no one in the bed. Callen turned back and shook his head, moving back out join her. Callen led them back down the stairs, through the house toward the door to the basement, knowing if Gibbs was here and not asleep, he'd be down there working on boat number eight or something. Opening the door and seeing no light, he closed it and turned back to Annabel.

"He's not here," Callen said.

"Where?"

"Maybe the office. Maybe Hetty called him after we called her," Callen wondered out loud, as he started to relax a little. Gibbs would be around somewhere, there weren't too many option. They just had to find a way to meet up with him.

"Do we go to the office or wait here?" Annabel asked, weariness settling down on her, as she wondered just how much more she could physically handle right now. Callen heard it in her voice.

"Why don't we rest a bit? I'll give Gibbs a call and we can see what Gibbs has in his fridge to eat," Callen suggested. He followed it up with a soft chuckle as Annabel's stomach rumbled at the mere mention of food.

"As if you're not hungry," Annabel mumbled at him, giving him a gentle swat on the shoulder as she made to move away. Callen pulled her back to him, his arm tightening around her waist to bring her in closer contact than he had upstairs earlier. He heard her breath catch and smiled. The temptation of being alone with her, of finally feeling safe, of knowing she wasn't taken and that she was interested, coming together and leading him to lowering his head and capturing her lips with his. Annabel melted into him and responded with just as much passion as he, with just as much need. Reluctantly, Callen pulled back before he lost all his faculties and carried her up to the guest room bed, with no thought of their current situation or the danger they were still very much in.

"I'm hungry, just not necessarily for food. But that, will have to wait til later," Callen admitted, his voice soft and heavy with the desire and emotion he felt for this woman and a promise of things to come.

Years ago he had felt something similar. Had given in and went with it, even though she had also been an agent. They had been three of the happiest years of his life until she had been taken away. A drunk driver and car crash taking her life. Whilst he regretted the ending, he hadn't regretted the time. He had a feeling he wouldn't regret going with those feelings again with Annabel. He had no idea how this relationship would pan out because, aside from the inherent danger of their jobs, there was the distance. But, given everything they had been through over the last few days, he figured that the technicalities of a long distance relationship, at least until they were sure how far this was going to go, would seem like a walk in the park.

He gave his head a slight shake and focused his senses back to what was around them. Safe they might be, but he could only keep them that way if he made sure he knew what was happening.

They were just about to step into the small kitchen, Callen having retrieved the phone from the living room on the way, his fingers already starting to dial the phone number he knew by heart, when they heard a noise; the front door opening. Hoping it was Gibbs, Callen put the phone down, though both were still extremely wary of their situation. They quickly turned around and split up. Callen going to the left, down the hall; Annabel moving into the living room and taking position to cover him and whoever had just come in.

Just as Callen had the front door in sight, he heard Annabel's cry out, "No!" He quickly turned back into the living room, watching as she collapsed on the floor, her fearful gaze looking at him, her hand at her neck. Callen's gaze flicked over all areas of the room, but he couldn't see anyone. He stepped forward towards her, ears tuned in to the slightest noise that wasn't from him. A small sound made it to his ears at the same time he felt something similar to a mosquito bite on his neck, just as he was turning toward the noise. His hand went to it quickly, a similar spot where Annabel's hand had been on her own, just before. Callen didn't need the confirmation of the feel of the dart in his neck; the effects of the tranquillizer it contained already making itself known.

Knowing he didn't have much time, Callen glanced around for some way to leave a message, to let Gibbs know they had been here. He stumbled toward the coffee table, desperately hoping to stay awake long enough to displace the items on there. Gibbs always had a pile of woodworking magazines on his coffee table, always in date order, on the off chance that Callen required assistance. It was supposed to be a joke. After Gibbs had come to his rescue that first time in Russia, they had decided that they needed a way for Callen to send Gibbs a message if he was in trouble. Gibbs had arranged the magazines in order over a couple of beers. "Just mess 'em up if you need me." One time he had been here, he'd made a comment about it. Gibbs had simply said, "No big deal putting them that way. Bigger deal if you can't let me know." They'd never mentioned it again. Never needed to use it before. Never expected to need to. If he could just bump them off, mess them up, nobody else would know to put them back in the right order. Gibbs would notice, either that they weren't in order, or that they weren't on the table. That would be enough.

Callen fell against the coffee table, using everything he had left, his hand pushed the magazines off the table as hard as he could onto the floor. A floor that was wooden and polished. A surface that would allow the magazines to slide everywhere, not just fall with a soft thud and stay where they landed.

As the darkness surrounded him, his thoughts turned to the green eyes that had held so much desperation and fear just before, wondering if he would get a chance to see them again. Get a chance to tell her that he cared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

_The rest of the team - Gibbs' house_

_._

They went quietly through the front door, Grey and Kensi checked downstairs whilst Sam and Gibbs headed upstairs, checking the bedrooms.

"Where are they?" grumbled Sam as they came back down the stairs. Gibbs had just moved to the door to check out the basement when Kensi called out.

"Not here, but I think they were."

Gibbs and Sam moved quickly into the living room. Sam surveyed the room, seeing nothing odd, he turned to Kensi.

"What have you got?" he asked her.

Kensi pointed to the ground and Sam stepped over to her. Looking down, he saw a small dart, just sticking out from under the cabinet.

"Damn," Sam muttered having a pretty good idea exactly what that dart would have had in it.

"They've been here," Gibbs agreed as he straightened the magazines on his table.

"How do you know?" Grey asked.

"Callen let me know. I always keep these in date order." Gibbs pointed to the magazines. "Running joke with Callen. Never expected him to actually use it. Someone's put them back out of order."

Gibbs stepped over to where the rest were standing. Looking down, he swore. This wasn't good. Gibbs pulled out his phone and called Vance.

"Need McGee here with his kit. We need to find something about who has taken them," Gibbs told Vance.

"They were there?" Vance asked.

"Yep." Gibbs looked back down to the dart on the floor. "Looks like they were taken down with tranquillizers, we've got a dart left behind. Get DiNozzo and Ziva over here too. More eyes is always a good thing."

"Gibbs," Vance started to say. Gibbs had a good idea what Vance was about to protest about and wasn't about to take it.

"Look, don't tell the about The Twelve rubbish. Just get them here. I need their eyes to find Callen and Annabel," Gibbs demanded, his eyes going to the green ones of Grey at the name. Grey nodded his thanks for including Annabel in that demand.

"On it," replied Vance as he hung up.

"What do we do now?" Kensi asked. They'd been so close.

"We look, we see what we can find and we get them back," Gibbs replied.

Kensi looked at Grey.

"She's fine, for now. I'll tell you if anything changes," Grey assured Kensi. Sam and Kensi took comfort in that small reassurance. If Annabel was still all right, then it was highly likely so was Callen. They'd take what they could at the moment, anything to keep them pushing through the tiredness to find them; team mate, friends and family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

They trawled through Gibbs' house, dusting every possible surface for finger prints. Checked the driveway, the road, the paths for footprints or tyre tracks. Ziva suggested checking the neighbours driveways as well, and they managed to pull three different tyre prints off that didn't match the vehicles that were residing in the driveway or the garages. The neighbours weren't entirely happy about being woken up so early, but the thought of a robbery in their street made them quite co-operative.

With any luck, those unmatched tyre prints would flag something odd, or maybe they would just match with what was registered at the houses. They had a list of vehicles and companies of visiting contractors for the past two days to go with as well. At least it was something to try.

Back at the office, Abby and McGee worked on the prints and other evidence and information they had gathered. At least they were able to definitely confirm that Annabel and Callen had been there. Callen's prints were on the door handles and the phone, whilst the trace of blood that was on the dart came back a positive match for Annabel. Two of the tyre prints matched absent vehicles registered at those houses. One didn't. Abby and McGee were hunting down what kind of vehicle it was connected too, whilst Eric was trying to pull camera footage from around Gibbs' house, trying to get a net set up, so when they knew what they were looking for, he was ready to go. The programs were ready to run, he just needed to know what to look for.

Kensi, Sam and Grey were pacing around MTAC, the hum and slight buzz of the computers, the taping of fingers on keys, not being as calming or reassuring as they would have hoped. They didn't have anything that they could really do until something was found.

Whilst Kensi was slightly relieved that it appeared they were no longer after her, that was completely negated by the fact that it looked like they had Callen. And Annabel. Whilst Annabel wasn't part of their team, Kensi had grown to like the blonde woman who had given so much to protect them, Callen in particular. She had been able to easily see the deception and betrayal that had happened had been both a shock and brutal blow to her. Grey also, though not quite as much. She also knew that not knowing where Annabel was, must be extremely difficult for him, even with their connection telling him she was okay. Kensi found herself staying near him, just in case. Somehow, in these three days of drama, she felt that they had all become friends, which wasn't easy with her.

Sam brought them in some coffee and doughnuts. No one asked where he had found them at this time of the morning. It was 3.55 in the morning and none of them could remember exactly when they had last slept. But until Callen and Annabel were found, it was doubtful any of them would be willing to close their eyes or even rest.

During those hours, Vance filled them in, catching them up on what the others had found out about The Twelve. Hetty didn't correct any misunderstandings or errors. She would do that once she had a chance to speak to Callen. Because he deserved the details before anyone else did.

A ding from the computers rang out through MTAC, an uneasy silence having settled on the room over the last few minutes. A flurry of fingers tapping over keys sent everyone closer to Eric.

"Abby and McGee got an I.D on the vehicle the third tyre print came from. Come on baby," Eric croned to the computer, "help me find them."

Fingers were crossed, prayers, threats and anything else they could think of were said, and they waited whilst the computer did what none of them could. Find a van, a Chrysler van, if Abby and McGee were right, of unknown colour, that was somewhere in the vicinity of Gibb's house, about two or so hours ago.

Twenty minutes later, they had a match. Actually, they had three matches and Eric was busy setting the computer off again, in an attempt to track each one and find out where they had gone or were, where they had stopped, pick up gas or any thing at all. When it did finally trace them, one was safely parked in a garage of the business belonging to the owner of the van. One was still moving and the other had gone off the cameras when it went into another residential area. The fact that it had no plates making it their number one suspect vehicle at that point. Eric managed to get a net of cameras around that area and there had been no sign of the vehicle coming out.

They all looked to Gibbs.

"Keep track of the one moving, Eric. Looks like the rest of us are going hunting."

This time the trail of people was bigger. Gibbs, Sam, Kensi, Grey, McGee, DiNozzo, Ziva. At the parking lot they split up.

Gibbs took Sam. Ziva took Kensi and Grey. DiNozzo and McGee paired up. Three cars, seven sets of eyes and only about a hundred possibilities in the area Eric had managed to narrow it down to. But it was all they had, and they would take it. Somewhere in there were their friends, their family. They wouldn't be leaving until they found them, or until they had knocked on every door in the area, searched every house, shed, basement and vehicle.

No one voiced it, they fought off even thinking it. But it was hanging over every head out there in the cars and those still in the office at the ungodly hour of 5.19 in the morning. What if they were too late? What if they were wrong?

The cars split at the point the cameras stopped. One straight ahead, one to the left and one to the right. Phones were conferenced together so they could all know what was happening and where. Eric was poised to send GPS co-ordinates to the other vehicles the moment there was a possible sighting, as well as tracking their movements so they could make sure no streets were missed. Systematically they drove through the area, slow and steady whilst they checked every driveway and car on the streets.

Vance stood next to Hetty, his hand resting on her shoulder, offering her what comfort she could. He knew this would be bringing back memories of Dom. He also knew the two of them were in need of a talk, but now wasn't the time. He'd do that when they had everyone safe and sound.

Ten minutes went by with nothing.

"Tony, look," came McGee's voice.

"Boss," DiNozzo said, "think we've got something. Not the vehicle, but three unknowns heading into a house. Looking rather suspicious."

"Stay back Tony, we're on our way. Eric," Gibbs replied.

"Done," came Eric's quick answer as the two GPS units changed course to bring them all together. Lights off, the drivers floored it as much could be pushed in the residential streets without squealing tyres. Three minutes later, they were together, hurrying out of their respective cars, guns drawn, hearts racing and fingers mentally crossed as they quietly moved toward the house.


	27. Chapter 27

_A/N - Amazing support with the reviews, alerts and favourites, which has inspired the editing for this chapter, also it continued to reveal what an addict I am for reviews and feedback. _

_So, Enjoy this one and I hope I didn't keep you in suspense for too long._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

.

**Chapter 27**

.

Callen could feel the handcuffs, tight on his wrists, as he started to come to. His head was pounding from whatever had been in that dart. He could tell that he was restrained on a chair. When he tried to move, he found his feet were attached to the chair legs, though he wasn't entirely sure how. Given that he couldn't feel anything cutting into them, he guessed that it was tape. He tried to move his arms but couldn't. Opening his eyes, he looked down his front to see duct tape around him, holding him to the chair. Great, handcuffs and tape. He lifted his head and blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision whilst he wondered how long he'd been out for. He saw Annabel lying on her back on the floor near the wall, eyes closed. Her hands were obviously restrained behind her, which he had no doubt would be painful when she woke up, considering her shoulder. Her feet were taped up too. From the relaxed nature of her facial features, he gathered that she was still unconscious. He hoped she'd stay that way for a bit whilst he figured out what was going on. He could see the new bruise forming on her check from the last fight they had been in and he felt the anger flare inside him at the person responsible for hurting her again.

Turning his head slowly to look around the room, he finally saw the other person, sitting comfortably in a chair, next to a table. A gun was held loosely in his hand, in a relaxed but at ease manner that certainly looked like he knew what to do with it. He was watching Callen intently.

"Good to see you awake, Agent Callen."

"You know my name. What do I get to call you?" Callen asked. He wasn't about to try and deny who he was, his head wasn't up for that and, considering everything that happened, he also felt it would be pointless.

"You probably already know me as Mitch, so that will do," Mitch answered.

Mitch. So this was the one who had been following them, trying to get Kensi and him. The one who had betrayed Annabel, who had to be working for someone else. Callen sifted through his memories, trying to figure out if he had met him any other time, on some op where he might have made an enemy of him, but he came up with nothing. He was sure he hadn't met him before.

"What do you want?" Callen asked.

"I've got what I need. You," Mitch replied, standing up and walking over to him, gun still in hand.

"How did you find us?" Callen asked. So many questions. If he could keep Mitch talking, stall, find out what he could. Maybe it would give him time to come up with a plan or, if they were lucky, give Gibbs time to find them.

"Personally," Mitch pointed at himself, "I wasn't supposed to be here. I was supposed to be relaxing in Southern France, not getting my hands dirty."

"Who shot at Kensi?" He might as well start at the beginning, or at least close to it.

"Ah, that." Mitch let out an exaggerated sigh. "Another failed part of the plan. They were supposed to keep Kensi and Grey on the run, split up the infernally effective Grey and Annabel. You would be with Annabel and the other team would pick you up when the plane landed. I know how those two work. The mission comes first and if they thought Grey couldn't get them out, Annabel would take you and go. She'd come back later and there would be hell to pay, but by then, we'd have you. But Kensi got away from them."

"That's Kensi. Maybe you should have read her file more carefully," Callen taunted him. Mitch just raised an eyebrow, staying calm and not seeming to be affected by the attack on his abilities.

"Then Annabel had to ditch the plane," Mitch continued, as a frown creased his brow. "Why did she do that? She shouldn't even have had the authority to do something like that. It will end her career. Well, would have, if it wasn't already over," Mitch added with a glance at where the still unconscious Annabel was lying. He turned back to Callen. "Why did she jump with you?"

"She knew something was wrong." Callen let his gaze flick around the room, taking in the surroundings and trying to figure out what he could do or use to help them get out of here, making sure to keep it on Mitch when he was facing him.

"Then, when she worked out the necklace and after Sasha was discovered ..." Mitch paused and another frown crossed his face, mixed with something that might be considered grief. "Which one of you put the bullet in her head?" he asked.

John.

"None of us. She was alive when we left," Callen said calmly.

"Must have been John," Mitch said, coming to the same conclusion. "Seeing her lying there, dead, the photo on the cupboard above her of the three of them. Then John tried to take us down too, blowing everything up. Only just managed to get out, though a couple of my men didn't. The things John sacrificed for her." Mitch's eyes darting back to Annabel briefly. "You'd think she was his own child, wouldn't you? At least now I can tell Sasha's father who killed his daughter. That might save me some punishment, especially now I've got you to deliver to him."

Mitch was just a tool. Not the one who they were after. He was definitely working for someone else. Sasha's father by the sounds of it. He needed to find out more. Anything, so they could get whoever he was when they got out of this mess. He was holding onto the hope that they would get out, even if his brain hadn't yet come up with a plan. He didn't have a choice.

"Who is he?" Callen asked, not expecting Mitch to answer but it was worth a shot.

"You know, your life is an interesting read, Agent Callen. Not as interesting as Hetty's, but still," Mitch continued ignoring Callen's question as he paced slowly and patiently, back and forth, across the room between Callen and Annabel.

"What do you know about Hetty?" Callen asked.

"More than you. We've got quite a large file on the little lady, double the size of yours," Mitch said. "You know this was all supposed to go down in a few more months, but when my boss' investigative consultant ended up dead, he sped things up since we weren't going to be getting anything more," Mitch said.

Files on him, Hetty, double, dead. The words tumbled around briefly in his mind.

"Keelson," Callen concluded.

Mitch nodded. "That would be the one."

"Who do you work for?" Callen asked, trying not to let the desperation come out in his voice. He'd said he had his file, Hetty's file. They had to be somewhere.

"I'm assuming you aren't referring to my job with MI6," Mitch said. "Annabel's file on the other hand," Callen almost flinched when Mitch waved the hand with the gun in it, in her direction. "Is quite boring, even considering her line of work," Mitch continued, on his previous track.

"Why her?" Callen asked, glancing at Annabel briefly, noting she still looked unconscious.

"Her?" Mitch shook his head. "She's not exactly important. Just a pawn in his game to get you. Would you like to know how long this has been going on?" There was a look of glee in Mitch's eyes, like he had been dying to tell someone whatever it was.

"You seem to want to tell me, go ahead."

" How does it feel to know that her life has been mixed up with yours for so long? The things that have happened to her for the last _five_ years, have been because of my boss' obsession with you."

Callen's stomach knotted, his fist involuntarily clenching behind him. Five years?

"What do you mean?" Callen asked, confused.

Mitch stopped pacing and watched the look on Callen's face, thoroughly enjoying the reactions if his smile was anything to go by.

"When he approached me, told me what he wanted me to do, how much he would pay me to do it, I thought why not. No big deal. All he wanted, needed from me, was to keep her in the field. Keep her being the one Hetty would go to. It was the easiest money I would every come by. Really, I didn't even have to do much. She had no compulsion to move up the ladder. She enjoyed her job too much. Saving people. Working with Grey for the greater good. Never really understood why she didn't want to do something safer. The only thing of interest to my boss, in her file, was when she saved Hetty and the subsequent times Hetty came to her for assistance. That information made him extremely happy," Mitch said.

"Why?" Callen asked.

"Because it told us exactly who Hetty would call to save her favourite agent when his life was in grave danger, when NCIS had been compromised. When there was no one else she could trust, she would turn to Annabel. And she did, just like she has done a number of times since that fateful meeting," Mitch said.

"How did you get into NCIS?"

Eric had found something, something that had obviously scared Hetty enough to do all of this, to have them run rather than fight. Someone had to have gotten in. Keelson had, so it wasn't impossible.

Mitch grinned and gave a smug smile. "Another of Sasha's tricks. She'd been in the system a while, monitoring how Eric worked, the little things he did. Studied him, figured out just how far he would go along lines that weren't necessarily standard protocol, above board or things that would raise eyebrows if he was caught. It was a simple matter of her spreading some irresistible cookies and having him follow them to what she needed him to find, when she needed him to find it."

Eric wouldn't be pleased to know that he'd been played. But at least Callen could let him know that someone had been in, maybe it would help him track down how and make sure it couldn't happen again.

Callen's mind buzzed with questions as he tried to figure out where next to take the conversation.

"How did you find us at the apartment?"

It had been so quick, no one had known where they were going except those in the car. He trusted each and everyone of them completely. The names Kensi had used, the cards. Unless John wasn't as trustworthy as Annabel thought. He didn't want to think about that. She'd lost so much trust in those around her already, he wanted to have a little faith for her.

Mitch frowned. "What apartment? After the disaster at John's place, my boss wasn't impressed with me. Told me to go to Gibbs' house, wait for you there. My last chance. Fail and it would be my head on the block. He had me drive my team to Cincinnati, arranged a helicopter and another vehicle. He was losing faith in my abilities, took over and gave me step by step instructions."

It didn't sound like Mitch enjoyed being told what to do. A ripple of pleasure went through him that, even though he had eventually caught them, they'd been able to make Mitch's mission more difficult that he had anticipated.

Mitch continued.

"Though, I knew as well as he did, where you would go, especially since by then, Annabel would be well and truly doubting herself."

If it wasn't him, who was it at the apartment? Callen wondered how much worse this could get, because right now, it looked like there was more than one lot of bad guys after them. He hoped the others were having better luck than he was. At least, though, he had a little something to go on. Hiring a helicopter, that had to leave some sort of trail that Eric could try and find.

"The tracking device." Callen's eyes slid to Annabel and then back to Mitch. "How?" he asked.

Mitch went down on his haunches in front of him and looked up at Callen's face. "You are chatty aren't you, Agent Callen, but I'll answer." He rose, stepped back slightly and continued. "It's not like it's a state secret or anything." Mitch turned and looked at Annabel as he spoke. "When she got pregnant, it was a disaster. Needless to say my boss wasn't happy with me, which was how Sasha ended up on the team. Someone to watch over me closely." He turned away from Annabel. "You see, she was going to quit. Stay home, be a mum, safe and sound."

Callen glanced over at her, the bruises, the cut, the dark circles under her eyes and he desperately wished that that was the life she was having right now. Not here; hurt and suffering.

"It was the only reason she would stop work, only reason to leave Grey's side," Mitch continued. "Someone more important. Really, the bond between those two is freaky, but it paid off with their work. They made a great team. There were times when they didn't need to say a word, just a look was enough, sometimes not even that. They would just know. Guess it is a twin thing."

Not your typical brother and sister. He thought back to her reaction that first night, the shocked breath, the whispered name as she had raced to call Grey, knowing already that something had happened. She'd mentioned Grey knowing she was in trouble, that time when she'd met Hetty. He'd just thought that was an assumption. Perhaps it wasn't.

"Anyway," Mitch continued, breaking into Callen's thoughts. "When the doctor found the problem on the ultrasound, it was perfect. The child most likely wouldn't survive the birth. They needed to operate before that or she at least needed to have a caesarian. All I had to do was make sure she didn't know, make sure she thought everything was perfect. It's amazing what you can get a doctor to do when the life of all the people he has ever loved are on the line. Annabel went ahead with a natural birth and bingo, no more reason to stay home," Mitch said, almost cheerfully.

Callen was rarely speechless, this was one of those times. It had been deliberate, Zoe dying. How could ... His thoughts were cut off and his eyes flew to Annabe,l as she spoke.

"You knew?" Annabel asked in disbelief, her voice breaking over the words.

Callen had thought she was still out of it. At the look on her face, he wished she was. Everything else that had happened had been bad, but he couldn't imagine what this revelation would be doing to her. He wondered just how much she had heard.

"Of course." Mitch turned and walked over at her. "Did you really think that the best medical team in MI6 would miss something like that?" he asked callously.

Callen saw the tears, the pain, the grief and confusion in her eyes. He tried to move his feet, tried to feel if there was some way he might be able to loosen or break the tape, but it was too tight. He needed to find a way out to get them out of this.

"How could you?" Annabel asked, disbelief heavy in her question. "She was your child. How could you let her die?"

Mitch was Zoe's father? When was this going to end for her?

"I didn't want a child with you. Didn't want a child period. It was one night. You were needy. Couldn't have you quit over that mission, could I? It's not like I cared about you or anything, you were a job. One night I'd honestly prefer to forget. You have no idea what to do with a man. Maybe that's why you've never found someone," Mitch said.

Callen saw the look in Annabel's eyes. He honestly hadn't thought that the pain he could see there could get any worse, but somehow Mitch had just sent it skyrocketing. Callen knew she needed some time to calm down. He needed to get Mitch away from her, get him focused on something else.

"If you didn't enjoy yourself, I wouldn't blame it on her," Callen said.

Mitch turned around to face him.

"Really? Why's that?" Mitch asked.

Callen remained silent, realising too late that he probably should have chosen his words a little better. Mitch looked like he thought he was onto something. Something good.

Stepping over to him, Mitch came down to eye level. "I asked you a question, Agent Callen. Answer me," he ordered.

"Just made a comment," Callen replied, fighting to keeping the emotion out of his voice.

Mitch backhanded him with enough force to send Callen and the chair flying backwards. Callen's head hit the floor and he felt the weight of the chair, and himself, crushing his wrists and arms that were handcuffed behind him. He groaned in pain.

"No!" The distressed cry slipped from Annabel's lips before she could stop it, still groggy from the drugs, shaken by what she had just learnt and not able to control her reactions.

Mitch spun around to her, a nasty smile forming on his face when he saw the look on hers. Turning his back to her, Mitch moved and roughly pulled Callen and the chair back onto its legs, before he moved slowly over, crouched down and reached out to Annabel's face, turning it to him. She flinched away from him but it did nothing except increase his smile.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Do I detect a weak spot in your armour after all, Annabel?" Mitch asked.

"I don't have a weak spot," Annabel denied, holding his gaze. "She died. You killed her."

"Oh, but you have," Mitch crooned in delight. "I know that look. It was the one you had when you looked at her. That tiny little body you loved so much, that even though she couldn't be saved, you would do anything to save her life or to stop the pain. You are in love with Agent Callen. How delightful."

Mitch stood up and looked over at Callen, who pulled his eyes away from Annabel, schooling his face into what he hoped was a neutral expression, as he looked at Mitch.

"I wonder," said Mitch almost to himself as he looked back down at Annabel. He turned his face back to Callen and then his foot connected with Annabel's already injured shoulder as he stomped on it; hard. The action tore a scream of pain from Annabel's throat and tears stung her eyes, easily escaping from them, as the pain took over her mind, and even though she was already on the ground she felt faint, dizzy and like she was falling.

Callen's reaction was instant. Every muscle in his body fighting against the restraints. The chair made scraping noises on the floor as he shifted. Callen knew the look on his face gave it all away, but he hadn't been able to stop it. Her scream had tore right through his control, right into his heart, his reactions became almost primitive. The instinct to get to her, protect her, kill him, taking over the ingrained agent training. Mitch smiled at all of it.

"And maybe you are too," Mitch added. "He will be pleased. Callen, plus an MI6 agent and their respective weak spots. All in one nice little package," he continued.

Callen fought to get his gaze back to Mitch but he was having trouble. It wasn't just that, his heart was racing, he could feel the adrenaline coursing through him and his breathing was harsh and heavy. Annabel was pale, in pain and there was not a damn thing he could do about it. Mitch obviously knew what he was doing when he strapped him to this chair. He couldn't even get to the hairpin he kept in his back pocket. The chair had a solid back on it.

"You won't get away with this," Annabel said in desperation, her voice still racked with pain. "I'll find a way. I swear," she promised.

"I already have," Mitch said. "Five years of watching you, keeping you in the field. Five years of your life, Annabel ... all because of him." Mitch nodded at Callen. "They'll be here to pick you up in about fifteen minutes. Then I get my money and disappear, a life in the sun or wherever I want to go. I know enough that you won't find me. Oh, if only I could be a fly on the wall to see what he does with you two. I'm sure by the time he is done with you, you won't be able to stand the sight of each other." Mitch moved and crouched down again near Annabel. He looked her in the eyes and a satisfied, yet cruel smile came over his face."I'd bet that anytime they do something to you, it will be because he said no." Mitch stood up and turned to face Callen. "And you ... Just imagine what they'll be doing to her, every time you deny them something or say no. Time to go back to sleep," Mitch said as he walked over to the table and took out a needle out of a box, pre-filled with what Callen could only assume was more of the tranquillizer that had been in the darts.

Callen's eyes found Annabel's as she looked at him. Tears were falling from her eyes and she whispered, "I'm sorry."

They both jumped, were startled when the door unexpectedly swung open.

Mitch turned, needle in one hand, gun raised in the other. He let out a cynical laugh and turned the gun on Annabel, steady and well aimed.

Callen froze. Annabel's eyes went wide and she couldn't take her eyes of the gun pointed at her.

"He sent you? Really, I'm disappointed," Mitch taunted the unseen new comer.

"Put the gun down, Mitch. It's over," came a female voice from the doorway.

Callen heard Annabel's sharp, shocked intake of breath and glanced in her direction. She was even paler than before. Turning back to the door, he watched as a woman walked through it, focused on Mitch.

"You think you can get me before I get her?"

Callen frowned, the conversation confusing him. The woman took another step through the door.

"I won't let you hurt her," she said. Callen heard the determination in the woman's voice. This had to be about Annabel.

"Good luck with that. I hope you enjoy answering for her death," Mitch said. His gaze flicked to Annabel and Callen tensed as he saw the slight movement that showed Mitch was indeed about to pull the trigger. Before Mitch did, Callen heard a shot, muffled though it was, with the silencer that was on the end of the woman's gun. Mitch jerked back as the bullet hit him in the shoulder, though he didn't fall. He straightened up quickly.

"You'll have to do better than that," Mitch said. Callen heard the fear in his voice and wondered who it was for. The woman with the gun, or the boss that would probably have his head if he failed again. Mitch changed tack and turned the gun from Annabel to the woman.

"Don't Mitch. Put it down," she ordered.

Mitch shook his head and quickly moved his aim back to Annabel. Two more shots were fired.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

_A/N 2 - I'm sorry (just a teeny bit anyway). I apparently love cliffhangers more than I thought. ;-)_


	28. Chapter 28

_A/N - Getting there, still so much of this story to write, but thanks so much for all your support. Means a lot. _

_Hope this chapter answers a few questions and it's not so much of a cliffhanger this time. _

_Enjoy._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1 (so far back!) _

_._

**Chapter 28 **

.

Callen saw Mitch hit the floor, but that had barely registered before his head was turning quickly in Annabel's direction. His gaze ran over her and, when he had assured himself that there was no sign of further injury or a bullet lodged anywhere in her, he let out the breathe he had been holding and turned back toward Mitch.

Callen watched as the woman moved to Mitch's side, carefully and deliberately, kicking the gun and needle away from him as she did. She reached down and checked his pulse, her head dropping, a sigh escaping her that reached Callen's ears. Two more men stepped cautiously through the door. He wasn't quite sure what he should be feeling right now. Relief that it seemed to be over, that someone had taken Mitch down and come for them. Or whether things had just gotten worse and these three were actually here for them and Mitch, now his job had been done, taken out of the equation.

A strangled cry came from Annabel's direction as the woman stood up and turned to face her. Callen saw a flash of concern and pain on the woman's face and could hear Annabel's harsh breathing, even from across the room. He turned back to Annabel and watched in concern as she shook her head and seemed to be trying to back away. A task he was guessing was quite painful, and near impossible, considering the position she was in on the floor.

Annabel felt frozen with fear and dismay and she couldn't take her eyes of the woman as she watched her move to Callen. She wanted to shout out, tell her to stop, to stay away from him but she couldn't find her voice.

"Agent Callen. Olivia Mason, MI6 Special Task Force. Please, I need your help," she said to him, as she quickly undid the handcuffs and then cut the tape that still held him to the chair around his feet and chest. "I need you to get Annabel. I need you to free her and give her this gun."

Callen frowned as he stood up, his arms aching from the position and the fall. He flexed his fingers, pleased that they responded.

"Why?" he asked. She'd at least taken care of a couple of questions. MI6 - he knew who she was, assuming that she was telling him the truth that is. It also explained why the conversation with Mitch had suggested that she was here for Annabel.

"Please, trust me," Olivia urged. "I know it's a lot to ask of you, considering everything, but she needs this. Do it now, no more questions." Olivia handed the keys, a small knife and the gun to Callen and stepped back, holding her hands clearly out to the side, well away from her body or any potential weapon she could also have, as she turned to face Annabel.

Still confused, Callen moved quickly to Annabel's side. She was so much more distressed than he would have expected, considering it just looked like they had been rescued. Annabel looked up at him from where she was still lying on the floor, her eyes so wide and scared, Callen couldn't even see their colour anymore.

"Callen," she cried softly, glancing at the woman and then back to him, despair evident on her face.

"We're okay," Callen assured her as best he could, as he carefully freed her and helped her up, keeping his arm around her until he was sure she had found her feet. He glanced at the woman, Olivia, who nodded, reconfirming what he was supposed to do. Reluctantly, Callen placed the gun in Annabel's right hand and he moved to stand next to her on that side, ready to take it back if he needed to. Annabel was breathing heavily and shaking. He really wasn't sure this was a good idea.

The moment Callen placed the gun in her hand, Annabel raised it at Olivia, who in turn signaled to the others with her to stand down. Annabel tried to lift her left arm, the help hold the gun steady, but the moment she did, pain shot through her shoulder and down her arm all the way to her fingers and a whimper escaped her lips.

Callen moved slightly closer at the sound, wanting to reassure her, but something stopped him from saying anything, leaving it up to his presence close to her to do that. The coming conversation between Annabel and Olivia was something he felt he wouldn't be playing a part in. There was nothing he could do; nothing except to stay close, ready to protect her if something went wrong.

Annabel's mind was so confused. She had no idea who she could trust anymore and she never thought she would be in the position she was right now; pointing a gun at her sister-in-law who she loved dearly.

"Annabel. It's okay," Olivia assured her.

"How do I know I can trust you?" Annabel asked, not taking her eyes off her. She could feel Callen standing right beside her, his body close enough to just be touching, to feel the heat from him, and she wanted nothing more to collapse into him. But she couldn't, not yet. She didn't feel safe enough to do that. She locked her knees, trying to steady her legs. She blinked back the tears that were pooling in her eyes; she needed to see. She held the gun tightly. So many things hadn't been what she knew. Please, she begged silently, please don't let this be wrong too.

"I'm not the bad guy. Mitch was. We suspected him a few months ago and put a tracking chip in him, thanks to a fake appendicitis attack," Olivia said.

Annabel remembered that. Mitch had behaved like a whiny child for a few weeks. It had driven them all crazy.

Olivia continued. "When Grey sent a message that Mitch had compromised the team, we started tracking him."

"Why would Grey send you a message?" Annabel asked. Work brain please, she pleaded with herself.

Callen put a hand gently on her back and she felt some sense of relief knowing that she could at least trust him.

"It's his job, Annabel. You know that. It's the way you two work, remember. As second in command it was his job to send a message to the task force. He also sent another about Sasha."

"You're a part of it?" Annabel asked. She had seen the look on Olivia's face when she said Sasha's name. Sasha had done more than become part of a team. She had slipped into their little family too.

"This time, yes," Olivia answered. Olivia's answer gave her a little hope. Those that had never been a part of it, believed the task force was a set group of agents. But in reality, the team changed after they had to go out in the field, making themselves known, like had obviously happened now. The team would change once this mission was over.

"Does Grey know you are?" Annabel asked. She knew there were no secrets between those two, but she also knew that as a member of this particular task force, it was a requirement to not tell anyone. She'd been in it before, she knew the rules.

"No." Olivia smiled. "I take it you have been on it yourself, which means you know the rules if I was to do something wrong. You know what I would lose," Olivia added.

Annabel did. She'd lose everything, her job, her freedom. Grey. Loyalty and trust were the two most important traits to Grey and if Olivia destroyed that, he would walk away, no matter how much he loved her. She wanted to believe her, she really did. But what if she was wrong ... again? Her eyes darted briefly to Callen at her side. Protect him, that's what she had to do. She couldn't trust her instincts right now. She had to protect him against everything, until she was absolutely sure. Taking the risk, she unlocked her knees and took two small steps, to bring her in front of him.

"How did you find us?" Annabel asked, feeling her strength start to waiver and arm holding the gun slip a little.

Callen noticed the slight movement of her arm. He took hope from it that this was almost over. His muscles tensed ready to react to Annabel if she needed it. His hand had remained on her back even as she had moved and he could feel the trembling in her. He knew what she had been doing when she moved. The same thing she had done with Hetty; putting herself in the line of fire. It had taken a lot of restraint for him to stay where he was, to not move back to her side, but to stay behind her. Because he didn't want to distract her and he had a feeling that she was hanging onto her control by a very fine thread.

"We checked on Mitch," Olivia said. "He wasn't in France where he was supposed to be. He was here in the States, but we didn't know where you were so we didn't know if he was following you. We'd just sorted everything out, worked out a rough plan when Graham called to say that Hetty had passed on a message about him. That he was after Agent Callen here, and an Agent Blye. We made our way over, monitoring Mitch whilst we were in the air, not sure where to head to. We received the message about Sasha on the plane. When Mitch stayed put in Washington for more than an hour, we headed here, unfortunately we had started to head to L.A instead so it took us a little longer to get here than we would have liked. Came straight to him, hoping to get him before he could get any of you."

Annabel lowered the gun then. She had no reason to doubt now. Everything Olivia had said made sense. This had to be real. Callen quickly and easily took it from her loose fingers as he slipped in beside her, the hand on her back going around her quickly to stop the fall he was almost certain was coming.

"Liv?" Annabel's whispered cry came out full of relief.

"Hey little sis," Olivia said, softly as she stepped over to Annabel. Callen could see the shine of tears in her eyes, too. Annabel took a small step forward, Callen dropping his arm from around her as she did, and fell against Olivia, tears falling down her face in relief that finally something was as she believed. She ignored the pain in her shoulder and arm. She closed her eyes as Olivia's arms went around her.

Callen looked at the two of them. They looked nothing alike. Blonde, green eyes, heart shaped face, and slender yet definite curves of Annabel. Black hair, brown eyes, round face with an average shape for Olivia, who was also taller. Annabel turned her head to look at him.

"Little confused?" Annabel asked at his look. They weren't exactly safe yet and she was falling apart. She needed to pull herself together. At least though, they weren't alone. There were now four of them to protect him.

"A little," Callen agreed. Annabel pulled back from Olivia and turned to him.

"Like an official introduction?" she asked with a small smile.

"Had that one. Need the family tree version."

"Olivia is Grey's wife." Annabel stepped into Callen's arms, into the safety of the arms that she trusted the most right now, hoping that just a few moments there, would help her get her head back in the game. She wasn't counting on it right now, but it was all she had. Currently, she felt like everything in her world had just collapsed into a pile of unrecognisable rubble.

"You know, you two really should start using last names a little more often. Maybe even descriptors," Callen teased gently, his arms wrapping carefully around her to avoid causing anymore pain.

"Annabel," Olivia said, mildly rebuking her. "How much misery did you put this poor man through?"

Callen raised his eyebrows and looked at Olivia curiously. One side of Olivia's mouth twitched in a small smile as she shook her head.

"First name only. The amount of times people have assumed they were a couple, because of their connection and closeness, and that they don't look alike, unless you happen to notice the eyes," Olivia said.

"Sounds about right," Callen agreed, his hand gently rubbing Annabel's back. He could still feel her trembling. "She said he was her life. He warned me off."

Annabel raised her head at that. "Grey warned you off? When?"

"On the plane. Reminded me again at the first house," Callen answered. He tried to remember what Grey's eyes looked like, but couldn't. Probably because he had been too wrapped up in the woman in his arms and who was after them to have noticed anything like that. He did have to wonder if he had taken the time to study the other agents whether he would have seen the similarity or not.

Annabel groaned and closed her eyes, resting her head back against him. He'd known before she did. Typical Grey.

They all jumped when the doors came crashing open on both sides of the room.

Callen, Olivia and her two companions turned quickly, guns raised, Olivia having obviously had more than one on her. Callen pushed Annabel behind him.

"Step away from them," came Gibbs' firm order as seven sets of eyes and guns were pointed in their direction. At least in Olivia and her two companions direction.

"Wait," Annabel and Grey yelled out at the same time.

"Olivia?" Grey wasn't entirely sure what was going on. He certainly hadn't expected to see his wife here. "Bel?" He looked at his sister. Annable looked at him, immense relief rushed through her at the sight of her brother.

"Task force. You sent the messages," Annabel said. Grey's eyebrows raised and he turned back to Olivia, lowering his weapon as he did.

"Guess you really can keep a secret," Grey teased his wife, relief settling over him that they had made it in time. That Olivia wasn't bad. The thought had briefly crossed his mind the moment he had laid eyes on her in that room. It was expected, considering everything, but it was one he had fought back in a split second, because he trusted his wife completely and wouldn't allow that thought to settle. He glanced at the man on the floor. His boss. Ex-boss, he guessed now. The man he would have well and truly enjoyed putting the bullets in. Looking back to his wife and noticing the handcuffs and tape on the ground, he came to the conclusion that it was probably her that had shot Mitch. And here he had been assuring himself that she was home, safe and sound.

"Callen?" Gibbs asked, not willing to drop his guard yet. His eyes still on the three unknowns in the room, who had dropped their arms to their sides, though not their weapons.

"It's okay," Callen assured him. "All good. Mitch is dead, but apparently there is someone coming to pick us in about ten minutes, I'd guess."

Mitch being dead wasn't exactly the scenario Callen had hoped for, but considering that Mitch had been on the verge of shooting Annabel, he had no complaints about Olivia's actions, even if it mean another lead gone.

"Liv, take Annabel, get her out of here," Grey said after glancing Annabel over and easily seeing that she was in no shape to be a part of anything else.

"No, I need to -" Annabel protested.

Callen gently turned her to face him. The green was coming back to her eyes, slowly, but at least it was a start. She was still pale and he could still feel the telltale tremors that hadn't settled down yet. She stopped talking as he looked at her.

"Go." He cupped her face gently with one hand. "There are plenty of us. I'll be fine," Callen assured her softly. He'd carry her to the car if he had to. She wasn't going to go through any more today. His fingers gently stroked her cheek and he smiled softly at her. He was amazed at her strength and determination. With everything that had happened, everything she had learnt, the injuries she had taken, and she still wanted to protect him. But now it was his turn. He had his team, they were able to fight, and she was going to go somewhere safe.

"You sure?" Olivia asked Grey.

"You've done what you came to do. I don't want you involved anymore," Grey assured her. Mitch was her target. She'd done that, she didn't need to have to answer for anything else. Annabel needed her after everything that had happened, needed her family. Tempting as it was for him to offer to go with her, Grey knew that his staying with Callen would also help Annabel settle down. He had no idea of what had happened here, but the look on Annabel's face and the emotional pain Grey could feel radiating from her, was more than he had expected.

"I leave my team with you. They take orders from you for the rest of this," Olivia said. Grey nodded his agreement, as did the rest of Olivia's team when she glanced at them.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said. "Take them to the office. Keep them safe and get Annabel to Ducky. Go now."

Whilst Gibbs would have preferred to send McGee with them, he felt Tony would be better bodyguard, and was slightly more talented at driving than McGee, should someone actually follow them.

"Annabel, Olivia," the names rolled off Tony's tongue in soft tones. "Beautiful names, beautiful women and a beautiful accent. I always did find the British accent incredibly sexy," Tony said as he stepped closer to them. Annabel looked at him in disbelief then glanced at Callen.

Callen, not liking DiNozzo's tone or the way he was looking over Annabel, gently pulled her into his arms and gave her a tender, lingering kiss. Enough to make it clear to Tony she wasn't available. Sam chuckled in the background. Gibbs eyed Callen off and wondered if perhaps Grey had been right. It hadn't slipped by him that Callen hadn't left Annabel's side since they came in, and he had protected her.

Grey smiled at the protectiveness of Callen over his sister and then saw Tony eye Olivia in a similar way.

"DiNozzo, is it?" Grey asked, stepping closer to Tony.

"Yes," Tony replied, looking up at the taller man and stepping back slightly, perhaps a little intimidated by the height and the scar on his face.

"One of the beautiful British girls is my sister; the other, my _wife_." Grey paused briefly, letting his last word sink in. "You might want to rethink those thoughts," Grey warned.

"Wiped from my mind already," Tony backtracked quickly.

Annabel almost smiled at that, her forehead resting against Callen's shoulder. Grey had warned off many a guy from pursuing her. She didn't tend to worry about it. If they didn't feel she was worth the fight, then they weren't worth it either. The thought briefly crossed her mind that Callen hadn't stopped. She felt the heat from his hands on his back seeping through her shirt. She was reassured by the contact, as his hand moved slightly up and down, in a comforting, gentle caress.

"Go. We have work to do," Gibbs ordered.

Reluctantly, Annabel pulled apart and Olivia put an arm around her waist, supporting her as they followed Tony out the door. Annabel looked back briefly at Callen, concern in her eyes. Callen nodded his reassurance that he would be fine. It helped that Sam stepped up behind him and did the same. Annabel tried for a smile but wasn't successful. Too much pain still rushing around in her mind.

Callen turned to Gibbs, slowly letting out a breath. At least she would be safe now. "So what's the plan?" he asked. "We don't have long."


	29. Chapter 29

_A/N - Thanks again for the wonderful support. So, next chapter. I've been over it too many times so here it is. Hoping it works and makes sense. Let me know. You know I love to hear from you._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_._

**Chapter 29**

.

Hetty breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Callen's voice on the other end of the phone. She felt some of the tension leave her tightly wound shoulders with the reassurance that he was all right, that they had found them … in time.

The relief was short lived.

Hetty had hoped that once the two of them had been rescued, Callen and Annabel would be back in the fold, here at the office, and then, together, they would figure out what to do next.

Except Callen had already figured out the next move. They were staying on to get those who were coming to get him. The only thing that stopped Hetty ordering her team back was that was that they were together, and had back up. Between Gibbs' team and Grey, plus the two additional MI6 agents, that had been added to the mix, she felt reasonably certain that they could handle anything. She pushed back on the protective mother mode and forced herself into team leader mode to evaluate the situation objectively, which led to her holding her tongue.

Unlike Callen though, Annabel was on her way back. Callen and Grey had sent her back to the safety of the office. Hetty let a smile play on her lips at the thought of those two combining forces to get Annabel to do something. Annabel was a headstrong, capable and determined woman who could handle a lot more than her appearance suggested; who didn't like to leave a job unfinished. The smile slipped away as she remembered the reason behind their actions. They said she was hurting too much and needed looking after. From the rest of what Callen said, whilst some of it was physical, most of it was emotional. He had hinted that there was more to Mitch's involvement than just tracking her. They didn't have long on the phone so she would have to wait to find out the rest.

Hetty rose from the chair she had been occupying for far too long, and walked slowly up the steps and out of MTAC.

Vance followed her, knowing Gibbs had everything under control, giving him a few minutes, at least, to talk to Hetty in private.

"You didn't trust me, Hetty." Vance's tone was gentle, but disappointed.

Hetty knew this was coming. She'd known it when she had to make the decision to not call him, when she turned to Graham instead. At least, she knew it was going to happen should Eric's information be wrong and Vance wasn't involved. She knew the moment had arrived when Vance had turned to look at her when she stood from her chair just now.

"You know about The Twelve now, Leon. I couldn't risk it," Hetty replied wearily, as she rested against the railing and looked over the deserted bullpen below.

"I understand. Now. But Hetty, you should have known I would never do anything like that," Vance assured her.

Hetty turned her gaze away from the scene below to face him.

"Trusting you with my life and believing that is one thing Leon, but not with his. Not with this. Especially when Eric had something that looked so real and implicated you," Hetty replied. She didn't have a choice. The fallout would have been catastrophic if she had've let him know what was going on and he'd played her. She could see how easily he could have turned the tables, put Callen in protective custody, only to have it be a set up. Which is why she had gone to someone outside that she trusted, someone unconnected to the compromised position she felt they were in. Though from the brief conversation with Callen, she had a feeling that perhaps, although Annabel was innocent of any wrongdoing, she hadn't been as unconnected as Hetty had originally believed.

Vance lent his forearms on the railing and looked at her.

"I understand Hetty. I do. But no more secrets," Vance implored her. "I need you to know that I will have your back. That you can trust me with this. I don't want a repeat of these last few days wondering where on earth you are, or whether you are all right. Going off grid like that. You scared the hell out of me. Nate's been worried too. You really should call him. He's had a pretty rough few days himself."

Vance had spoken to Nate as often as he could, helping him, reassuring him, advising him; but as the hours and days went on, Vance could hear the psychologist struggling. He'd managed to get someone from the San Diego base up to run OSP, but that had only happened late yesterday.

"I'm sure he handled things quite well in my absence."

"Yes, he did," Vance agreed. "But squeezing his feet into your shoes, and running OSP, wasn't exactly what he was trained for," Vance reminded her.

A smile fluttered on Hetty's lips briefly at the thought of Nate's size twelve feet in her size five shoes.

"Just as long as it was figuratively and not literally in my shoes, Nate will be fine. I will call him in a few hours, at a reasonable time. Perhaps we will have more upbeat news for him by then."

"The message you left me was rather suspicious," Vance added.

"Yes, and I expected you would make an attempt to locate us. When you failed, I assumed you would wait a few days before doing anything rash. Had you not known about The Twelve or received that note, you wouldn't have worried Leon and you know it. You know I have a habit of doing things differently, whatever it takes to sort out my team and, sometimes, that involves unorthodox ways and sudden decisions."

"I know. Though you might need to give Nate a better explanation than that. I don't think your psychologist will see it that way."

They stood quietly for a few minutes, not quite shoulder to shoulder, whilst Hetty tried not to think too much, tried to give her mind a rest, just for a short time.

"Graham should be here soon. He called about fifteen minutes ago, and he was in a car on his way from the airport," Vance added

Hetty nodded. "Good. It will be reassuring to have him here. After these few days, I'll be glad to hand this over to him," she said.

Vance looked at her. "How do you know him?"

"I've known him since I first started in this field, Leon. He was the one who encouraged me that I could do it, even when there weren't many positions for women. He's been a most wonderful and loyal friend over all these years." She had been nineteen the first time she had met Graham. The friendship instant, a rarity in the suspicious line of work that they were in, and he had never given her a reason to doubt him. Similar to that of Annabel. Hetty had called in her help a few times and Annabel and her team had never let her down. Hetty knew the young woman would need some reassurance when she was safely back with them; reassurance that she hadn't let Hetty down this time.

"Why Annabel? Graham said you trusted her completely. What did she do?" Vance asked.

"Seven years ago," Hetty said, trying not to think too much about what had happened then. "She was the main reason I came out of that alive."

Vance knew something of what had happened back then, though only a small part, but it was enough. He knew it had shaken Hetty, more than anything else in her long career. He nodded, looking forward to meeting the woman that Hetty had once told him about over some drinks. Though Hetty had never actually named her saviours.

"Was Grey a part of that? They are related, right?"

Hetty nodded. "Grey is her twin brother. There was also her other team mate, Shawn. Between the three of them, and Graham, I survived."

Hetty's tone on those last two words put an end to that topic of conversation.

"Shall we go back in and see how everything is going?" Vance asked.

"Yes, we should. And Leon … I do trust you."

Vance straightened up, as did Hetty and, as they turned in the direction of MTAC they heard the elevator doors open. Turning back to watch, they saw three people come through to the area below. A man and two women.

Hetty's breath caught in her throat at the sight of Annabel's face as she looked up and saw Hetty. Grey was right; her emotional state was so easy to read, even from this distance. The pain, confusion and failure that was written all over it tore at Hetty's heartstrings. She moved quickly down the stairs to where Annabel had stopped.

"I'm sorry, Hetty," Annabel said, the tears welling in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Hetty stepped closer and put her arms around Annabel in a reassuring, yet gentle hug, before she pulling back slightly to look at the woman she considered a dear friend, who had become a part of her family over the years.

"There is nothing to be sorry about, Annabel. Callen is alive, you saw to that. That is all I asked of you," Hetty said gently.

"But -"

"But nothing, my dear. Someone used you. For two years." It still so hard to believe what Annabel's boss had done to her with the necklace.

Annabel shook her head and Hetty frowned at the tears that had escaped from Annabel's eyes.

"Five ... Five years, Hetty … Not two." Annabel blinked rapidly, pushing back the tears. If she lost it now, she didn't know if she could stop.

"That is not your fault," Hetty said firmly, knowing that now wasn't the time to ask for more details on what Annabel and Callen had learnt. "What you did out there, when you found out, and after. That was not failure. That was the very reason why I trusted you. You did everything, you gave everything, to keep him safe." Hetty's tone making it clear to Annabel that this wasn't a debate. This was fact and she was to accept it as gospel. It wasn't failure on Annabel's part that they were up against something much bigger, more ruthless and unknown.

Hetty took Annabel's hand in hers, the one that wasn't being held carefully against her body, frowning as she noticed the mark of a footprint on the shirt and jacket she was wearing

"I wouldn't hesitate to ask you for help again. Except that I don't think I could bear to put you in harms way anymore." Hetty gestured to the shoulder. "What happened?"

Annabel glanced down and saw what Hetty was referring too. Her heart started beating faster at the memory of the excruciating pain and why Mitch had done it. She struggled a little to keep her breathing normal. Callen had reacted, how she wasn't sure, only that Mitch was extremely pleased about it. The pain, the dizziness, the loss of focus had taken her out of that room briefly, so she wasn't sure what words had been exchanged between the two of them.

"Mitch. He did it to get a reaction out of Callen," Annabel admitted.

"I take it he succeeded," Hetty assumed, given the look that flashed across Annabel's face.

"Yes."

"Director," Tony interrupted, "Gibbs told me to get her to Ducky. I should do that now." There was a gentle tone to Tony's voice. Whilst he was generally a flirt and, sometimes, a pain in the proverbial rear, Tony wasn't entirely insensitive. He could tell Annabel was hurting, both emotionally and physically. He'd caught the look of pain from her in the rear-view mirror as he had taken a corner in the car slightly quicker than he had planned. He had been driving carefully, but he'd been even more so after that. Getting her to Ducky was something he was determined to do, and quickly. He would have been, even if it hadn't been Gibbs' order. He might not be able to help Annabel deal with any emotional pain; Grey's warning and Callen's actions being all the deterrent he needed from anything that could be remotely construed as flirting. Which was, in general, his way of making those of the fairer... opposite sex, he corrected himself at the thought of Ziva … relax and smile. Physical pain he could help her with, by getting her to the doctor. Though he had brought her to this floor first, so he could check that Ducky was in, before taking her down to Autopsy. He had yet to let Annabel know that the doctor was actually their ME.

Annabel glanced at Vance, curious and Hetty smiled.

"Annabel Robinson, Olivia Mason. This is NCIS Director Leon Vance. Leon, both of these lovely ladies are MI6. Olivia is Grey's wife."

"It is a pleasure to meet you ladies," Vance said sincerely, "though I must say, I would have preferred them be under much less dramatic circumstances. Tony, Ducky is in. Take them down."

Tony steered them away, though Annabel turned back after a few steps.

Hetty smiled. She knew what was on Annabel's mind. "I will let you know the moment he is here. I promise."

Annabel nodded her thanks and turned to follow Tony.

Hetty let out a sigh and crossed her fingers that the rest of the team would be back soon.

Glancing up at Leon she said, "Let's go find out what's keeping the others. I want my team back together and safe."

Five years. Annabel's words played over in Hetty's mind again and again, as they walked up the stairs. What did it mean? Aside from the fact that this was well planned and whoever it was, had extreme patience. That made Hetty shiver. The thought that perhaps someone had been watching Callen for so long, waiting for the right opportunity, planning something; had perhaps been watching Annabel for that long. She suppressed another shudder, as she wondered just who they were up against. Shaking off those thoughts, Hetty pulled her mind back to the mission at hand as she stepped through the door, back into MTAC.

The silence in MTAC was deafening as the three of them waited. Vance, Hetty and Eric. All three of them experienced at waiting for news, at not being out there in the field itself, but for some reason, this time it was so much more difficult. Perhaps because of the fact they didn't know the plan, perhaps because they didn't know the enemy. Perhaps it was simply because so much had happened, so quickly, that they felt like everything was on a knife's edge, not knowing how deep it would cut when this was over. They wanted this over, and soon. But they all doubted it was going to be. The likelihood that they would be able to get the one behind this, today, was slim to none. This was too well planned, even with the inability of Mitch to pull it off completely. There had been so many different scenarios that had happened, so many plans that would have been in place as back up. However, with a little luck, they would find a lead. This mission, if you could call it that, was far from over. Hetty had a feeling that by the time it was over, lives would be touched in ways they could barely imagine.

When the call finally came in that three suspects were on their way to the office, there was another moment of relief, a feeling that there would be a temporary reprieve for a little while whilst they questioned them. But deja vu reared it's unwelcome head again, and, like before, relief was short lived. The team were heading to an address where they were supposed to take Callen.

An uneasiness settled heavily on Hetty, especially considering the way the last address that they had checked out, had been found. The motel room across town, the address they had gotten out of Jo. By the time they arrived, the room had been gutted in fire. Whether they could get any trace or lead from that room was yet to be determined. They still weren't allowed to go in yet.

Graham arrived shortly after that, Hetty heading to the car park to escort him in. It gave her a moment of fresh air, a break from the lights and tension of MTAC, from the seemingly never-ending waiting, and a private meeting with Graham. One where she didn't have to have it completely together, because he knew what they were up against. At least what they suspected they were up against. Leon had a small amount of knowledge, but not enough to really understand. Hetty guessed that would be changing at some point soon. But first Callen needed to come back and needed to be told. She wasn't entirely looking forward to that, considering what she had been keeping from him. But told he would be and she would take the consequences as they came, because she had done what she had, to protect him, to watch over him and keep him as safe as she could.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

It took a little more than the estimated ten minutes, the 'transporters' arriving almost ten minutes later than expected. Callen and Kensi had played the part of unconscious detainees perfectly. They'd used both of them, assuming that Mitch had passed on a message that there were two to pick up. They'd had to set up in a different room because of Mitch's body and the blood, and they hoped that those coming didn't have anymore than an address to go on. Whilst two of the three 'transporters' moved close to them to double check that they were out of it, the rest of the team waited patiently for the signal to move. The signal being the unexpected moan of pain as both Callen and Kensi swiftly landed some blows to the suspects. The rest moved in and it was over in moments. The three were handcuffed and secured whilst Gibbs had one of the suspects rapidly moved to another room. It didn't take much. Gibbs had chosen well, his instincts telling him which was the weakest link before the handcuffs were even in place. The speed and unexpectedness of the assault, and the ruthlessness of Gibbs' questions, had him spilling the address where they were supposed to be taking Callen and Kensi after picking them up. But that was all, because suddenly a flash of fear went over the suspect, and it wasn't because of Gibbs. He wouldn't say anything more, but it was enough to give them somewhere to start.

Gibbs called another team in to escort the three suspects back to base, ordering that they be kept separated and under guard, until they could get back to question them further. Their vehicle had also been sent back to Abby, who would thoroughly enjoy pulling it apart completely, to find anything at all that she could that might help.

The address was a house, a forty five minute drive away. At least normally. It took them half an hour with Gibbs, Ziva and Kensi driving their respective vehicles.

Before they had even turned into the street, apprehension was settling heavily in Callen's stomach. It had started the moment the smell of smoke had made its way through the air vents. As they turned into the street, Callen swore from the front seat next to Gibbs, slamming his hand against the dashboard in frustration, at the sight in front of them. The movement causing Gibbs to look at him with raised eyebrows, though he wisely kept his mouth shut about Callen's actions. The swearing changed to a small groan, at the pain that went through his arm. The bruising on his arms making itself known as his actions sent shudders through the vehicle and his body.

The house that they were heading to was currently surrounded by three fire trucks, an ambulance and three police vehicles, which were keeping everyone back, whilst flames engulfed the property shooting about ten feet into the air.

Gibbs pulled up and got out. Callen followed quickly. The others stayed back as the two of them stepped over to one of the police officers.

Showing his badge, Gibbs asked, "What happened?"

"No idea. Why are you here?" the officer asked.

"Place of interest in an investigation," Gibbs said smoothly.

"All we know is that there was an explosion. Neighbours called it in. No idea if there was anyone in there. Too hot even for the fire fighters to go in. A matter of saving the neighbouring houses at the moment," the officer answered.

Gibbs handed him a card. "Let me know what you find and when we can go in."

"Will do," the officer said with an nod.

Gibbs started to walk away. Callen just stared at the burning building.

How? It was less than an hour ago that they had caught the suspects. No one could have passed on a message. They hadn't given the address to anyone at the office. Unless someone had been watching that house all along. At least they still had their suspects.

Gibbs stepped back to Callen's side. "They torched the other place that they were supposed to take you to."

Callen looked at Gibbs, curious. "The other place?"

"Yep. Hetty called us. They didn't run. They went to where you were and got an address out of the one you didn't shoot at the apartment. They're connected Callen, and if there is anything here, we'll find it. You know Abby. She won't leave anything untested, unturned or unknown."

Callen shook his head. "They won't find anything. Who the hell is doing this?"

They were so thorough, so well planned. He was sure they wouldn't leave anything incriminating. Their only hope now was those they had in custody. Five years, pulling the strings of Annabel life and Zoe's; finding him, following him, going after Kensi, knowing so much about him. All of that and they barely have anything. Not even a name.

"Let's go. We've got some people to talk to," Callen said, moving quickly back to Gibbs' car. The way Callen said talk, made Gibbs wonder whether it would be a bad idea to put Callen in the same building, let alone the same room as their suspects.

It took them an hour to get back to base. An hour where Gibbs wasn't entirely sure of what to talk about with Callen, but after about twenty minutes of silence, he asked one question, sort of, that had been bugging him for a while.

"Annabel? You like her, I take it," Gibbs said.

Callen didn't answer for a moment, thinking, trying to figure out how to describe it without having Gibbs think he was crazy.

"Hard not to like someone who's willing to give up so much for you. She's ... " He let out a breath, and changed tack on what he was saying, going for the slightly toned down version of the truth.

"Yeah. Probably more, but given everything that has happened over the last few days, I don't know where it's going to go, or if it's just going to stop when this is over."

Callen was pretty sure that the feelings he had weren't all to do with the events that had thrown them together, though he would be naïve to think that they had nothing to do with it. Proximity, danger and physical attraction could prompt the idea of other feelings. It wasn't like he hadn't been in that situation before, but those other times, he hadn't felt anything like this. This was familiar in a different way.

"You think you love her," Gibbs concluded. He could hear it now. He'd seen it, the look in Callen's eye when he'd been with Annabel earlier. Now, he put the two together and recognised it for what it was. Much easier this time round since he had something to compare it to.

"Feels like it. Feels like before," Callen answered. It didn't surprise him that Gibbs came to that conclusion. He'd been around when it had happened last time. It had been a long time ago, but he remembered.

"What about her? Think she feels the same?" Gibbs had a fairly good idea that she did. Aside from what Grey had told him, he'd seen the way she was clinging to Callen, even though her brother was right there; the look in her eye when she'd started to protest about leaving. He knew she was the one who was supposed to be protecting Callen and saw that she still wanted to do that.

"Hoping. Though she's not always easy to read. Took me until," Callen glanced at his watch, 7.23am, "about seven hours ago to figure out her and Grey were brother and sister, and not together."

"And I take it that was a little frustrating," Gibbs said, upon hearing Sam's snort from the back seat. Whilst Sam hadn't thought Callen in love, he had noticed the attraction his partner seemed to have with her, and he hadn't known that Callen didn't know what their relationship was.

"You have no idea," Callen said, a small chuckle escaping his lips. He didn't have a whole lot to smile about from the last few days so he was grateful for what he could get.

But then, it settled over him how much she had lost because of this; because of him.

"They used her, Jethro. Used her so bad. She lost her daughter because of this. She's only just learnt how much Mitch actually knew." Callen remembered the pain on her face when she had told him about Zoe, the despair when she realised Mitch had known. He felt his stomach heave in revulsion at the thought of that man and what he had done to her. Then he wondered if Annabel would be able to look at him and not think about the way they had used her to get to him. There was a pain in his chest, right where his heart was, at the thought that being around him might cause her even more pain.

"They wanted her in the field," Callen continued. "So they knew who Hetty would call to protect me. They couldn't let her have her child, so they deliberately made sure Zoe didn't survive. She didn't have to die. It wasn't even a day, Jethro, before she was gone. Because some bastard out there wants me." Callen threw as much of the anger and frustration and pain as he could into that last sentence, hoping it would give him some relief, clear his mind a little and let him focus on things. It helped, a little, but not much.

He heard Sam's hiss of disgust and shock from the back seat.

"I'm sorry," Gibbs said softly. He could see how much this was hurting Callen, could understand roughly how painful this would be for Annabel.

"I have to find whoever has done this. It's not just for me anymore, but for her."

And if he could do it with his own hands, all the better. Callen's fists clenched at the thought of what he would do to him, whoever he was. "She deserves to know that whoever was behind this isn't going to come after her again, that they pay for taking Zoe's life and pay for hurting her so badly."

Gibbs glanced across at Callen, took in the clenched fists, the tension on his features and as Callen turned his gaze to him, he took in the look in his eyes. The pain, determination, and, yes, love.

"Grey was right. You really are in love with her," Gibbs told him.

Callen smiled. "You'll like her. She's funny, talented, loyal, can definitely hold her own in a fight." Though with any luck she wouldn't be doing that again for a long time.

"Cute," Gibbs added. He could tell that. He could see behind the injuries and bruising, behind the sadness and pain on her face. Callen had good taste, even if she was blonde.

"More than cute, Gibbs. At least, I don't have to fight you for her. She's not a redhead."

"I'm open to other colours," Gibbs said, looking for something to ease the tension he could still feel radiating from his friend.

"Don't be, not now anyway. Bad enough worrying about Tony," Callen replied.

"I'll take care of Tony," Gibbs assured him. The teasing hadn't worked. "Though I think between your reputation and Grey's menacing look earlier, he will probably keep his hands to himself."

"What have you told him about me?" Callen hoped Gibbs was right, though even if he wasn't, he was positive Annabel wouldn't have any of it. The look of disbelief on her face earlier, plus the way she had responded to his kisses, had certainly convinced Callen she was interested in him. Given her loyalty, he confidently assumed she was a one man kind of woman.

"Nothing that wasn't true. You ready for this?" Gibbs asked as he pulled into the NCIS parking lot.

Callen nodded. "You going to let me ask the questions?"

"Not right off. I'll see what I can get first."

Give you time to calm down a little, Gibbs thought to himself.

"Though apparently Hetty is rather effective," he added.

"Hetty?" Callen asked as he opened the door and stepped out of the car.

"Ask Sam and Kensi. They witnessed it, not me," Gibbs replied as he locked the car.

Callen's gaze went over every car in the lot. He should feel safe here, but right now, he was just a little bit paranoid. The others stepped out of their respective cars and they all headed in.


	30. Chapter 30

_A/N - Okay so this is a really small chapter, but I wanted to get it out. It contains a reasonable amount of answers, if you can find them! ;-) I'm in the middle of an assignment that the last question is driving me crazy on, as well as editing a few intense chapters that are coming and having a writing splurge on later chapters. So things are a little insane in my head but hopefully this little snippet will be enjoyable._

_If everything goes well, next chapter should be up in a couple of days._

_Thanks for the support._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_._

**Chapter 30**

.

It was early morning, with the sun only just starting to brighten the dawn sky, yet a woman whose still rich brown hair and vibrant blue eyes defied her age, sat in a car, wide awake, worriedly drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. She was waiting and watching. Waiting for one person in particular to arrive. One person she was afraid wouldn't.

She watched as the blonde woman was led carefully from the car by another, who had her arm protectively wrapped around her, and a man who carefully checked the surroundings, behaving like he was making sure they were safe. Given that they were in the NCIS parking lot, they should be, but it pleased her that he was taking that precaution. Pleased, yet displeased her at the same time, because he failed to notice her. Mind you, that was the plan. She didn't want to be noticed. She was parked far enough away, front of the car in so she needed to turn around to see those coming and going. It wasn't the most comfortable position for surveillance, but it was necessary so she wasn't spotted. The car she was in; non-descript, even with the tinted windows; it easily fitted in with the cars surrounding it. It didn't stand out, it wasn't black or shady looking. It was simply a car.

She continued to wait.

She saw a familiar man from long ago, step out of a car that had just arrived in the lot; watched as another familiar face came to meet him. The much shorter woman easily identified, as it wasn't that long ago since she had last seen her.

But still, _he_ hadn't arrived.

She kept watching as the minutes turned into an hour and continued to tick by.

An ache started in her chest, wondering if he had been caught, if they hadn't been able to find him and get to him in time. Hoping and praying that he was safe.

But that part was normal. She'd been doing that for years. It was as much a part of her everyday life as breathing

They had found the blonde, surely he had been with her. She had looked injured, so it would make sense that he would want her safely out of the way. At least if he was the kind of man she felt sure he had grown into.

She held her breath as three more cars pulled in. Watched and waited as the passengers stepped out. Releasing that breath only when she saw _him _get out; saw _him _stand on his own; though he did look a little more battered than he had the last time she had seen him.

When his gaze ran over all the cars in the parking lot and she saw those blue eyes pause briefly on each and every vehicle, her breath caught again and her heart started pounding in her chest. It wasn't that she could see the colour of his eyes, but she knew them. She could never forget them.

Finally, it was time.

She let out a small sigh as she saw them all move inside. She wouldn't approach him, not yet. She'd do it in the safety of the office, where he could make a choice to see her or not. She wouldn't force it, wouldn't corner him outside and give him no choice. She didn't have that right.

Her hand retrieved the keys that were still in the ignition. She reached for the door handle but halted when she heard the sound of ringing. Frowning, she pulled her phone out of her handbag.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Jessica Marshall?" the voice enquired. She froze. There was only one reason for anyone to be calling her that. Something was very wrong.

"Yes. Who are you?" she asked, attempting to keep her voice calm.

"Nurse Sheldon. I'm calling from Cincinnati General Hospital about your brother, Clayton Marshall."

"Is he alright?" she asked, fear clutching at her stomach, though only concern came through in her voice.

"He was involved in a car accident late yesterday. He is going to be fine, but unfortunately he has a broken hip and some other injuries. Mr Marshall has already been through surgery successfully. I'm very sorry it has taken so long for us to contact you, but your brother didn't have any identification on him when he came in and he only just woke up enough, albeit briefly, ten minutes ago and gave us your name and number and a message for you. I don't know if it will make sense though."

The fear subsided slightly and she took a steadying breath.

"What's the message?" she asked.

"The horses are up to you. I'm sorry. He said you'd know what that meant."

She closed her eyes and put her head back against the head rest, letting out a sigh as she did.

"Thank you, Nurse Sheldon. I understand the message. Next time he wakes up, let him know I'll take care of them. I will visit him when I can, though I don't know when that will be. Is this the number I can contact you on to check on him?" she asked.

"Yes," Nurse Sheldon replied. "We can put you through to him when he is awake."

"Thank you."

"Goodbye, Miss Marshall."

She disconnected the call, saving the number before she put her phone away and looked at the keys that were still held in her hands. Her gaze slid to the building. A disappointed sigh escaping her lips along with a lone tear. So close. What happened to you John? Reluctantly, she put the keys back in the ignition and started the car. She clipped up her seat-belt and took one last lingering look at the building where he was.

"Soon," she whispered. "I just have to make you safe from Peter first."  
Proof. It was up to her to find it, so that she could get help finishing this.

She pulled out of the parking lot and drove away, leaving a good deal of her heart behind. As always.


	31. Chapter 31

_A/N - Okay so the hints and answers in the last chapter perhaps not as clear as I had thought. Oh well, you'll get them eventually. _

_Thanks again for the support - this story is now officially my most reviewed, favourited and alerted that I have on FF, which is really cool. _

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_._

**Chapter 31**

.

They arrived in the bullpen, those who had desks, dropping their gear at them; those who didn't, finding a place to stand for a moment, unsure of what was to come next. Many pairs of eyes were flicking between Gibbs, Callen and Hetty, who had just joined them with Vance and another man.

"Good to have you back, Mr Callen."

"Good to be back, Hetty." Callen looked around briefly. "Where's Annabel?"

Hetty smiled reassuringly at him. "She was called back to Ducky a little while ago. She will be pleased to know you are back," Hetty replied, just as the elevator doors slid open.

Callen and Grey turned to look, the others not being that interested. Walking towards them from the elevator was Annabel and Olivia, with Ducky a step or two behind.

Annabel saw the throng of people and, once the recognition of who they all were settled, she let out a small sigh of relief. They were back, all of them. Her gaze fell on Callen first, but nervousness caused her to look for the comforting green eyes of her brother. She had basically spent the last three days by Callen's side, but these last few hours away from him, with her emotions haywire with everything that had happened and her mind so tired and confused at the events of those three days, she wasn't entirely sure if things would be the same.

Grey stepped over to her, a reassuring smile on his face and gave her a gentle hug. He then tilted her head up to face him, examining the small plaster strips that covered the cut just on the side of her forehead. The bruise on her cheek had come out, but didn't look too bad. "Are you okay, Bel?" he asked.

"I'm going to be fine. Couple of weeks, I'll be like new," Annabel answered positively.

Grey raised his eyebrows suspiciously at that answer.

Ducky cleared his throat. Grey and Annabel both turned to him as Olivia found her way under Grey's other arm.

"She's lying, isn't she, Doc?" Grey asked Ducky.

Callen bit back a smile at the look he caught flash across Annabel's face. He didn't need Ducky's answer to know that, whilst she might not be lying, she was probably stretching the truth. He knew that look, had felt it on his own face many times when he had done the same thing.

"Not entirely," Ducky replied. "I would prefer she keeps her arm in the sling, unless she is in bed, for the next six weeks. However, knowing as I do, the futility of asking dedicated agents to follow my instructions fully," Ducky sent a brief glance around the agents milling around, catching some of their eyes, whilst others quickly looked away, "I will settle for Agent Robinson following my orders for two weeks and then getting her own doctor to check again."

Callen wondered what Annabel would do next. He'd been waiting for some sign from her, more than the nervous glance she had given him before she had focused on Grey.

Hetty interrupted his thoughts, introducing him to the man standing next to her.

"Agent Callen, this is Graham Montgomery. Head of MI6."

Callen nodded to Graham. "Perhaps we should have introductions all around, including last names this time, Hetty."

As Hetty did so, Callen noticed the difference in names with Annabel and Grey. He was curious about it, but didn't probe further. It was possible that Grey had taken Olivia's name. Un-traditional, but possible. Annabel still looked exhausted, fragile and breakable, and he wanted nothing more than to be able to wrap her up and protect her from anything coming anywhere near close enough to break her. He was sure most of that frailty radiated from the emotional upheaval that had happened in her life in the last twenty four hours. Finding out your child had been murdered would be enough to make anyone fragile, let alone everything else she had been through. If he hadn't seen it for himself over the last few days, looking at her now, he wouldn't believe she was physically capable of everything she had done.

As Callen was telling Hetty a few of the details that they had learnt from Mitch, he kept an eye on her. He noticed the glances she kept shooting him, nervous and unsure; saw her nibble on her bottom lip. But she didn't move closer to him, almost like she was frozen where she was. Once he had filled Hetty in, he slowly stepped over to her, gauging her reaction to see if his approach was welcome or not. When she gave him a small smile and he saw the relief in her eyes, Callen thought he understood her reluctance. He wasn't the only one not entirely sure what was going to happen now.

"Hey," Callen said softly, as he arrived next to her and rested his hand gently on her back. She moved slightly away from Grey and Callen stepped closer, allowing her to lean into him and his arm slip around her more. "How is she, Ducky? Anything broken?" Callen asked the doctor.

"Nothing broken, surprisingly so, considering everything she has been through. You did an excellent job of putting her shoulder back into place, Agent Callen. Unfortunately, the subsequent injury is what I am most concerned about. There is some major contusions and swelling from that. Once the swelling settles down, we'll be able to confirm if there is any ligament, muscle or nerve damage, but at the moment, it all looks promising for a full recovery. The bruising should settle down in a few days to a week, disappear completely in no more than a few weeks. There appears to be no concussion effects left over from her bump on the head, that is, if she had one."

Few weeks? They must some pretty rough bruises. Callen did a quick assessment of where his arm was and thought back to what he knew of her injuries, just to make sure he wasn't hurting her.

"What does she need to do?" he asked.

Ducky looked at Annabel, raised his eyebrows slightly. Callen felt Annabel shake slightly as sound came out of her mouth that he hadn't expected. A soft giggle. He looked down at her and she looked up at him, as Ducky answered.

"Relax, preferably not get into any more fights, and keep the arm in that sling."

Callen eyebrows raised in question.

"Easier said then done," Annabel said as she rolled her eyes at him. There was so much going on, how could she relax?

"For me?" Callen asked gently. He brought a hand up and stroked her cheek softly, "Need my bodyguard to keep me out of trouble."

Callen heard her let out a breath, almost coming in a sigh.

"That's not fair," Annabel replied.

"Nope," Callen agreed. He'd quite happily play on the emotional connection that was developing between the two of them. "Will it work?" He hoped she would understand the additional message behind his words. He wanted her with him through this. More importantly, he wanted to be with her whilst they tracked down whoever was behind this, because that was the only way he could protect her; if he was right there with her.

"We'll see." She couldn't promised anything more than that. Annabel rested her head on his shoulder, taking a moment to let it sink into her mind that he really was safe and right here.

"Callen," Gibbs interrupted. "You ready? Our guests are waiting."

Annabel frowned and looked up at Callen.

"We've got a few guys to talk to," Callen explained. He turned to Gibbs. "How are we going to do this?"

"I'm going in first with each of them. If I get nothing, then you get your chance."

Callen nodded. That would give him time to observe and decide on a tactic, should he need one.

"Agent Gibbs," Hetty spoke softly, but the two men turned their heads immediately to her. "May I suggest you take Grey. He can be, shall we say, rather menacing when he needs to be," Hetty added.

Kensi and Sam laughed quietly, Annabel smiled too. Callen had a feeling there was a whole lot he was missing here. He remembered what Gibbs had said earlier.

"Not volunteering your services, Hetty? I hear you're pretty good," he asked Hetty.

"I've done my time in the interrogation room today," Hetty advised. Callen caught the look that went across her face, realising that whatever she had done, had been very hard for her.

Callen turned back and gave Annabel a reassuring smile. "I'll be back," he promised.

"I'm coming," she said, surprising him.

"No," Callen said firmly. Annabel looked up at him with those green eyes of hers, about to protest.

"No," Callen repeated, trying not to get too caught up in the fact that he could actually see the green again, that her eyes looked almost back to normal; normal, beautiful and almost distracting. "Too personal for you. You been through enough."

Callen knew that if it had been Kensi, he probably would have let her watch if she'd wanted to, though he would have made sure someone was with her whilst she did. Most likely Nate. He may have even let Kensi question them herself. He and Sam would have been right there by her side, but he'd have left the choice up to her. Agent-wise, he'd put Annabel and Kensi at about the same level. That was if you didn't include experience. Annabel probably had about eight to ten years on Kensi, giving her a definite edge. They were both talented, slipped into roles easily, fought hard and drove crazy. It was like meeting Annabel gave him a glimpse of what Kensi would be once she had a little more experience. Aside from that, the difference between the two was that Kensi seemed to have more of an instinct for self preservation. Sure, she'd push the line to protect someone, maybe even cross it occasionally, but Annabel … From everything he had learnt about her, witnessed of her, it was almost like she didn't see the line or she'd deliberately step clear over it, not caring about anything other than protecting who she had to. He knew that the reason he wouldn't let her get involved with this had nothing to do with the agent in him, or in her. It had every thing to do with him as a man wanting to protect her from getting hurt.

"Personal for you too," Annabel pointed out.

"Not as much." Yes they were after him, but that hadn't taken his child from him. "You're not getting hurt anymore for me," Callen said. "Stay here, relax. Remember Ducky's orders."

Not entirely sure she would agree, Callen gently steered her to Gibbs' chair and made her sit. "I want to find you here when I get back," Callen told her. His eyes locked on hers and he could almost see the wheels turning in her mind, like she was trying to figure out how to get out it, to come with them.

"Good luck with that," Grey said from behind him.

Callen turned to look at him. "What to add some brotherly threats to that for me? Make sure she does."

Grey stepped over and Callen moved away so Grey could get closer. He lent down to Annabel's ear, whispering something that Callen didn't catch.

Annabel looked at the two of them.

"Go," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Pushy, the pair of you," she muttered under her breath but both men heard her.

Callen remembered the last time she had said that. Remembered how they had actually won that small battle. It gave him a little hope that she would stay here, away from the interrogation rooms. If Gibbs didn't succeed, he wasn't going to hold back once he got in there. He wanted answers, for both of them. He didn't want her seeing what he was willing to do to make that happen.

They watched from the other side of the glass, as Gibbs went after them. Their original suspect, the one from the apartment, turned out to be nothing more than he had said he was. Eric and Abby had run down his prints, as well as his partners in crime. Identified them as hired guns, wanted criminals and, when Gibbs felt that there was nothing more they could do, they handed him over to the relevant authorities for them to charge. There wasn't a whole lot they could do with him right now, considering that they really wanted to keep this whole thing off the record.

The next three suspects were tougher, all denying that they knew anything more. Even their weak link who had given them the address earlier, had completely clammed up. Gibbs pushed, using every tactic he knew, but for some reason, these guys were tough and he couldn't get them to break.

"They're scared," Callen said when Gibbs came out after a hour of going after them. "But not of you."

"You think you can scare them more than me?" Gibbs asked.

Callen looked at Gibbs, a look that told him he was ready to try. He'd been patient and waited. But he also knew that time was ticking by, so he wasn't willing to rest it all on his shoulders.

"Now it's time to push. Five minutes each. Three of us, three of them. Then we swap. Round and round until something or someone breaks," Callen replied. Sam raised his eyebrows at the word 'something' but didn't say anything.

The confusion, the different wording of questions, the constant attack, not giving them time to get used to their interrogator. Hopefully that would get them somewhere. They started with Callen, Sam and Gibbs, throwing Grey into mix things up every now and then. Vance, Kensi and DiNozzo stayed as the watchers. Seeing if they could see something that would help them.

After going around three times with each suspect, Callen had had enough. He had his suspect out of the chair against the wall in seconds. Gibbs was in the room, barely a breath later, pulling him back off. Callen glared at the offending suspect, wishing he was back in L.A with the three of them at the boathouse with a few nice, big, heavy bricks and a hole in the floor. Gibbs pulled him from the room and suggested a short break and a rethink of strategy. Callen glanced at the door to the interrogation room, frustration filling him and he shoved himself away from Gibbs, went to the bathroom, and then headed down to see Abby. He had a favour to ask.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Annabel wasn't particularly happy that two of men in her life had effectively ganged up on her. She was grateful however, that the other two weren't there as well. Add her father and her best friend to the mix and she'd have been in a lot more trouble. Grey's whispered words of, "Let him protect you this time," were still haunting her thoughts. If Grey had told her to stay put, he wouldn't have been so convincing, but she couldn't really argue with him. Not the way she was feeling. There was a part of her, a major part right now, that just wanted to be protected. So, whilst she didn't stay in the seat all the time, she stayed close. But she had to do something. Going over the files of the men that were currently being interrogated, was something. Maybe she could find them an edge, a small detail that would have a big effect. After all, subtle was supposed to be her thing. She might as well try anyway, rather than sit around twiddling her thumbs, which technically she couldn't actually do right now. She didn't even have Olivia to talk to. Graham had taken her and her team to the conference room for a debriefing.

McGee loaded up the files of the men onto the computer for her and together they went over them, breaking them down piece by piece, line by line. Searching every database McGee could get into for anything on them, anything that might give them that edge or something to coerce them with.

Annabel's breath caught as she read something. Her stomach knotted in apprehension and her heart started to beat faster, as she explored that line of investigation, pulled everything she could find, memorised every piece of information that could possibly help. She felt every muscle in her tense as she realised the most likely way for this to effectively play out

"That's it," Annabel whispered to herself. "That's what we need."

She didn't know if she could do it though, but she knew she had to. Voices filtered through into her mind and she looked up from the screen. Her gaze settled on Grey when she couldn't find Callen.

"Any luck?" Annabel asked, every fibre of her being hoping the answer was going to be yes.

Grey stepped over to stand next to her. "No, nothing. Can't get any of them to crack. They're too scared of something, or someone." He looked weary. Annabel glanced around all of the team and she could see it in all of their faces. The weariness, concern ... frustration.

Annabel took a deep, but shaky breath and then stood up, turning to face Grey.

"I need to speak to Kevin," Annabel said, keeping her voice steady. Kevin was the weaker suspect who had given them the address initially.

There was silence for a moment as Grey and Gibbs stared at her.

"No," Grey answered, his tone firm.

"I'm not asking your permission, Grey." Annabel turned her head to Gibbs, "Nor yours, Agent Gibbs."

Annabel turned back to Grey. "This is my choice to talk to him."

Grey shook his head and opened his mouth to continue his protest. Annabel got in first.

"Mitch knew Zoe would die."

Grey froze, her words stopping his before they could even make it to his tongue.

"What?" came Hetty's shocked murmur.

"Bel?" She couldn't be saying what he thought she was.

"Mitch knew she had a problem, knew she wouldn't survive." Annabel swallowed, pushing the lump that was forming in the back of her throat down. "He kept it from me so I would be available for this." She forced the tears to the backs of her eyes, determination shining in them instead. "Whoever they are working for, murdered my child and I will not stand back and do nothing, not when I can break Kevin."

Gibbs stepped closer. "Tell me how. I'll do it," he demanded.

"No." Annabel turned to Gibbs shaking her head. "You won't be able to do it. It has to be me. I'm going to talk to him. Now. You can either take me there or I'll just wander the halls until I find him. I can do this." She wished it wasn't the case, but if they hadn't managed to break Kevin already, then they needed to do this differently or they would lose the advantage.

"Bel, you've already been through too much," Grey protested softly, still finding it hard to believe what she had just revealed.

Annabel turned back to her brother and took his hand in hers. "Grey, he killed her. This is my right, my choice. I need to do this. Please, help me," she begged. "Don't fight me, because this is one you won't win."

"Callen won't-"

"I know," Annabel interrupted him. "But this isn't his choice to make. Even if his intentions are in the right place."

Grey looked down into her eyes. He knew that look and he could do nothing except give in. She needed him to be there for her. He always would be.

"You just look and I'll be in there with you. That's all it will take, you don't even have to say anything," Grey promised.

"I know," Annabel whispered.

Grey nodded and then turned to Gibbs. "Let's go." Grey slipped his arm around Annabel, pulling her close as they walked away.

Gibbs watched them until they were out of earshot, instincts screaming at him this was a bad idea, but he he couldn't stop it.

"Sam, find Callen and get him to that viewing room before he kills us all for letting her do this without him," Gibbs ordered.

"Where?" Sam asked.

"Bathroom or Abby. He mentioned something about wanting to talk to her." Gibbs headed off to the viewing room, Hetty, Graham and Vance following whilst Sam went to check the bathrooms and Kensi called down to Abby.

"Is this wise, Hetty?" Vance asked her as they walked.

Hetty shook her head. "Wise, no. The right thing to do? We'll have to wait and see."

Kensi found Callen with Abby and, without explaining, she told him to get to the viewing room. Now. She hung up and went there herself, waiting outside the correct one until he came. When Callen stepped inside and turned to look through the mirror, he froze.

"What the hell is she doing in there?" he asked.

"She asked to be," came Grey's quiet reply, his eyes focused intensely on his sister on the other side of the mirror. A look was what he was waiting for and he'd make sure he saw it.

"Why?" Callen couldn't take his eyes off her, she was leaning against the wall, looking at the suspect but not saying anything. He watched as she closed her eyes.

"To break him," Gibbs answered.

Callen turned to go, ready to drag her out of there. He didn't care that they hadn't had a breakthrough yet. He wasn't going to let her do this. Grey put his arm out and grabbed his shoulder.

"No," Grey said, still not looking at Callen. "This is her choice, Callen. Not yours. Not ours."

"You're letting her do this?" Callen asked in disbelief. He was her brother, he was supposed to protect her.

"No. I'm just supporting her. Like she asked. She needs you too, Callen. She needs you supporting her choice, not dragging her off to the nearest cave to protect her. No matter how much we wish that we could."

Callen turned back to look at Annabel. She was leaning against the window right in front of them now.

"What's she going to do?" he asked.

"I don't know, but she's doing it for Zoe," Grey replied, pain evident in his voice.

Callen's gaze slid back to Grey, noticing the pain was clearly on his face too.

"She told you?" Callen asked.

"Yeah."

Hetty stepped up beside Callen and placed a reassuring hand on his arm. He looked down at his boss.

"She's strong Callen. She's been through hell but she knows we're all here. That's what she needs to get through this."

Callen looked closely at Hetty. He could see the concern, could see that she was hurting for Annabel. He turned back to the window and waited. Tense, but patient. The moment he felt she needed him in there, he would move. It wouldn't matter whether they all had their hands on him. They wouldn't stop him.


	32. Chapter 32

_A/N - Thanks so much for the support. This was a hard chapter to sort out. Originally Annabel wasn't supposed to be drawn into the story quite as much as she has. But then originally this story wasn't as long or as complex. I guess it's true that sometimes the story writes itself and takes on it's own direction. Hopefully I've done this chapter and the emotions in it justice._

_Italics in the chapter writing are from the viewing room - it should make sense by the time you get to it._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_._

**Chapter 32**

.

Annabel walked into the room where Kevin was seated at the table. She closed the door, her hand shaking slightly. Looking at the empty seat across from him, she realised she wouldn't be able to sit still. She was fighting the emotional pain and the tremors that were inside her body. Sitting down, they would show. Grey would see and nothing would stop him pulling the plug on this at any sign he felt showed she wasn't up to this. Instead, she walked over to the far wall, lent against it as she took a moment to study Kevin. She didn't say anything, just took in what she could from his actions. Interrogation wasn't her thing. Grey did that so well, there wasn't much point. But this wasn't an interrogation. Kevin didn't need her hammering questions or accusations at him. They'd already tried that and had been unsuccessful. No, she was here to give him a reason to tell them what they needed to know, give him a reason stronger than whoever he was scared of. She noticed the fidgeting; the eyes flicking between her, the door and the mirror; the frequent swallowing and slight sheen of perspiration on his skin. He'd been here a while and was definitely nervous.

Annabel opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She closed her eyes briefly, wondering if perhaps they were right, that she shouldn't be doing this. Blue eyes, blonde hair, tiny pink mouth, beautiful lashes. The picture of Zoe came to her mind, followed by another pair of blue eyes. Ones that were still alive. Ones that needed the answers to this just as much as she did.

Annabel moved to the two way mirror, rested against it and mentally begged to those behind it to help her do this.

"Kevin, is it?" Annabel asked.

"Yeah, but I'm not going to tell you anything. The others couldn't get it out of my, why do you think you can?" Kevin said nervously, more information tumbling from his lips than was necessary. A sure sign to her that he was more than nervous. The others had rattled him, and maybe, given a little more time they might have been able to finish it. But now, she was here and she wouldn't leave until she had what she needed. She just hoped this was going to play out in her favour, that being as nervous and rattled as he was would make him easier to get through to.

"I know about Stella. I know about Emily." Annabel saw the look in his eyes change at the names.

.

_"__What do we know about them?" Gibbs asked_

_"Think he had a sister," Kensi said._

_"Call McGee. Find out the rest now!" Gibbs ordered Kensi, who quickly stepped out the room to make the call._

.

"I know you go to see Stella, generally every day. That you are still trying to save her. I know that you were there with her ... when Emily was born."

"That's got nothing to do with this," Kevin protested forcefully.

Blue eyes, baby soft skin. The tears filled Annabel's eyes and she momentarily lost it. "It's got everything to do with this," she yelled.

.

_"What is she doing?" murmured Grey._

_"She's your twin. You tell me," snapped Callen, letting his frustration out that Grey hadn't stopped her from going into that room._

_"Gentlemen, please. This is not what she needs." Hetty's gentle reprimand working better than anything at stopping the sniping between the two men._

.

"They weren't a part of this," Kevin denied, looking slightly taken aback at the force of her response just now.

Annabel closed her eyes, took a couple of slow deep breaths. This was so much harder than she thought. She could feel his eyes on her, even through the mirror. Knew he was watching. She could feel the tension emanating from the other side. She wondered just how long he'd stay back, how much time she would have before he came bursting through the door. She wondered if even Grey's strength could hold him back so she could do what she needed to. She knew what she was about to say was going to make it harder for them. She sent another mental plea to them, this time to let her do this. She opened her eyes and looked at Kevin, holding his gaze as she spoke.

"I know," Annabel said softly. "I know you love them very much."

"You don't know anything," Kevin said, pain evident in his voice even though he was trying to hide it. It was hard to miss when you knew it so intimately.

"Yes I do. I know what it feels like to hold that small body ... that has just breathed it last breath ... To feel no heart beat in a chest that is so tiny ... I know you know that feeling too, that you felt it when you held Emily."

"Stop." Tears fell from Kevin's eyes.

.

_"__No, she's not..." Grey's voice trailed off in disbelief._

_Callen swore and felt Hetty's fingers dig into his arm where she was still holding onto him. Silence fell over all those listening as Annabel continued._

_._

"No." Annabel's tone forceful but not yelling this time. "The man you are working for, he's the reason I _know_ that feeling. He's the reason my child is dead. So please, tell me how to find him. Tell me something," she demanded, whilst trying to keep her tone gentle at the same time.

"No." Kevin sounded scared, he looked scared too.

Annabel paused for a moment, taking a breath, pushing the tears back. Tears wouldn't help, not yet anyway. The pain, that was what he needed to see. That was what she was sure would break him, because he felt the same thing. He'd seen it in his sister, too. Annabel stepped away from the wall.

.

_Kensi stepped back into the room. _

_"Well?" Gibbs asked, turning to her._

_"Emily was his niece. She was stillborn, six months ago," Kensi said quietly. "Stella has been in a psychiatric hospital since, she barely responds to anything." Kensi inclined her head to the room where Kevin and Annabel were. "Except him."_

_There was silence as the information settled over them and combined with what they had witnessed so far, most were able to predict where this was going. _

_._

"You know, my daughter Zoe, she survived the birth. But she had a problem with her heart. She wasn't strong enough for them to do anything, she wouldn't have survived the surgery. Her skin was so soft. She had beautiful blue eyes ... Eight hours, Kevin." Annabel stepped closer to Kevin, put her hand down on the smooth surface, lent down and looked across the table at him. "Eight hours I held her in my arms before she died. My brother was beside me that whole time. Just like you were for Stella. She's a lucky girl to have you, to have you care, to have you try and help ... To not give up on her."

.

_Grey felt the tears slip from his eyes down his cheeks, but he didn't try and stop them. There wasn't any point to him trying to wipe them away either, more would follow._

_Callen saw them, his frustration at Grey disappearing as it sunk in completely just how hard it had been for him to let Annabel go in there; how hard it was to watch her in pain, hear the pain in her voice and not be in there with her._

_._

"Stop," Kevin begged. "Please, I don't want to talk about them."

"Neither do I, so tell me what I need to know," Annabel pleaded with him. She didn't want to keep going, but she would, until he gave them what she needed.

"No, I can't."

.

_"__Bel, no." Grey knew how much this was hurting her. It was taking everything in him not to go in there and stop this._

_Callen couldn't do it though, he couldn't stand watching this. He turned to go, to stop this from going any further. He'd pulled away from Hetty, but Gibbs stepped in front of him. Callen looked up ready to tell him off, but stopped at the look in Gibbs' eyes._

_"Callen, don't. She needs to do this. Trust me." Callen knew about Shannon and Kelly. He was one of the few who Gibbs had actually told everything to. "Let her do this, so she doesn't do something else." _

_Callen thought about how it had eaten away at Gibbs, what he had ended up doing. He didn't want that for her._

_Reluctantly, Callen turned back to the mirror, stepping closer and putting his hand on it, almost like he was trying to get closer somehow, to reassure her he was here._

_._

"I held her for eight hours, as her heart slowed down bit by bit. She was too weak to feed." Annabel paused as her voice started to break. She swallowed and took a deep breath before continuing. "We tried, just a little, something in her tiny tummy, so she didn't have that pain as well. But it didn't help. She'd sleep for a little bit, look into my eyes a little, repeated that for those eight hours. Didn't cry once. I held her close, tried a blanket, tried skin to skin, anything to find a way to keep her warm, hoping that maybe I'd get lucky. That I'd get a miracle and she'd get better, get stronger, at least strong enough to handle the operation ... But I felt her getting colder and I couldn't do anything about it. As her heart slowed, her temperature dropped and no amount of skin to skin made a damn bit of difference." Annabel heard the anger coming through in her voice and, as she stepped around the table and crouched down, looking up into Kevin's face, she tried to ease it away. She waited patiently, hoping Kevin would look at her face.

"Eight hours, Kevin." Finally at his name, he looked at her. The tears started to flow from her eyes. She didn't have the strength to stop them anymore. "Then she looked at me, she closed her eyes ... And she never opened them again. I felt her heart stop, felt her breathing stop, felt her body get even colder."

.

_Everyone in that viewing room could feel the tears pushing at their eyes, some let them fall, some blinked them back and would never admit that they had been close. But all of them knew that this was most painful to the two men standing close to the window, shoulders stiff with tension and hearts hurting for the woman that they loved, in different ways, who was giving everything in that room to get what they needed._

_._

Annabel could see it in his eyes, the pain, the memories that he had felt; still did, because it was only six months ago for him.

"Tell me please," she begged once again.

"I can't, he'll kill me if I do," Kevin admitted, the pain in his voice mixed with other emotions. One extremely evident to her, even in her current state, was how scared he was.

"We can stop him. We can protect you," Annabel assured him. She was so close.

Kevin shook his head. "He'll get her too."

"We can protect her. Please."

.

_Gibbs glanced at Leon. "Prove her right Leon. Make this happen."_

_Leon nodded. _

_"That won't be a problem, Agent Gibbs," Hetty said. "Leon, whatever it takes." Vance understood from her words that this was no longer an NCIS issue. As far as Hetty was concerned, this was hers and Graham's responsibility._

.

"For over two years, I've thought it was me, thought it was something I did. That I'd messed up, that she died because I hadn't protected her. Hadn't looked after her well enough whilst she was in me. That I'd failed."

.

_"__Bel ... why didn't you tell me?" Grey whispered. He'd never known that she felt that way. He knew it hurt her to lose Zoe like nothing had ever hurt her before, not even Tom, but she'd kept the guilt to herself._

_Hetty moved closer to the two men, resting one hand on the back of each of them, whilst Annabel continued._

_._

Annabel took another breath. She didn't have much left that she could say and she desperately hoped that what she did have was enough.

"Less than twelve hours ago, I found out the she was deliberately killed. She shouldn't have died, Kevin. They knew she wouldn't survive the birth, that she needed help before that and they hid it, deliberately hid it from me. They killed her. She died in my arms. You know how much it hurt your sister, it's almost killing her too. I won't let him get away with it. I'll find him somehow. Help me ... Don't be like him."

Kevin choked out a name, as more tears escaped his eyes.

"What else?" Annabel whispered.

An address where the group would meet. A description of a man, he wasn't sure who. A plea not to hurt him anymore, to keep his sister safe.

Annabel felt the tremors move from inside her to the surface. She needed to get out. She rose up from her position. Moving over to the door, she turned briefly to him. "Thank you." It was barely a whisper but it was all she could manage.

Stepping outside, she closed the door and moved to lean against the wall. She closed her eyes, felt the tears pouring down her face as she started to slide down the wall. She didn't get far before two strong arms pulled her back up and into them. Two safe and familiar arms, even though she'd only known him a few days. The sobs came then, choking painful ones. And still he held her. Again, he didn't run, didn't think she was crazy. Just held her safely and tenderly; let her cry. After a few minutes though, she fought the sobs back. She didn't want to cry anymore. She looked up at him. She saw the tears in his eyes as well.

"Why?" Callen whispered to her. "Why did you do that?" He couldn't understand why she would put herself through so much pain. He held her close, one hand on the back of her head as he looked into her eyes, one arm wrapped around her waist, like somehow he could protect her if he could hold her tight enough, close enough.

"For you ... For her ... I had to. I ..." Annabel stopped. She couldn't find the words. She'd done it for him. He needed answers for who was after him. She needed answers to why they had used her. She want to find the person responsible for taking Zoe from her. Mitch was just a player in the game. Not the one directing the moves.

Callen rested his forehead against hers, closed his eyes. "You shouldn't have," he disagreed softly. "We'd have found a way."

"I had to. The trail was getting colder." His arms, the warmth from his body where it touched hers, seeping through to comfort her and all combining to help her calm down. The trembling was almost gone, the shudders from her crying now random, and with decent intervals between them.

"Not worth you hurting so much," Callen said.

Annabel shook her head in denial. "Yes, you are. So is she."

Callen raised his head, tilted hers to face him so he could look in her eyes again. Beautiful green eyes that were still filled with tears. "Don't you ever do that again," Callen demanded gently. "Promise me," he begged. "I can't bear to see you hurting like that."

Seeing her in physical pain had been hard enough, but what she had just gone through in that room had been so much worse.

"I'll second that," Grey said softly from nearby. Annabel turned her heard to look at her brother. She could see the tears in his eyes as well, see the streaks down his cheeks. She hated that this had hurt him so much.

Annabel shook her head. "I can't."

"You give too much sometimes Bel," Grey added.

"No," Annabel disagreed. "You can never give too much." She put her head back down on Callen's shoulder and closed her eyes. Callen's arms tightened around her even more.

Gibbs watched the scene with interest. Painful interest. Annabel had done something that he wasn't even sure he could. The personal sacrifice she had just made, baring her soul, her heart, reliving the pain in front of a stranger and those who were behind the mirror whilst she told her story.

Quietly, leaving her with those who obviously cared about her deeply, knowing she was in capable hands, he told Tony and Ziva to go find out the details about the sister and the other information they had just gotten. Vance, he told to get the protection organised for the sister and quickly. He stepped back into the room to talk to Kevin. To assure him he was safe and that everything would be taken care of.

"Agent Mason," Vance said quietly to Grey. "My office is private and has a couch if she needs it."

"Thank you," Grey said, not taking his eyes of Annabel. Vance slipped away quietly.

Annabel finally looked back up at the two men who were left with her, Kensi and Sam having discretely disappeared as well.

"Bel," Grey let her voice on on a breath. There were times when he didn't know what to do with her, when he felt like he just wanted to lock her away somewhere safe, when he just wanted to hold her and protect her. Times when she shocked him, amazed him, surprised him and made him so proud. This was one of those times when all of the above applied.

"I had to," Annabel whispered back.

Grey stepped over and Callen relinquished his hold on her, reluctantly, as Grey pulled her in for a hug. When he released her, Annabel's eyes went straight back to Callen. As much as she loved her brother and knew the support he could give her, had always given her, she felt closer to Callen with this. Whoever it was out there had been playing with their lives, not Grey's.

"Come on," Callen said, reaching out to pull her to his side as they walked. "You need to eat. We all do."

They headed back slowly to the bullpen. The strain of everything evident in the pace and length of Annabel's stride being somewhat less than normal.

"Food, Hetty. We need some. I don't even remember when we last ate," Callen said when they arrived.

Hetty nodded and, even though she was speaking to Callen, her gaze strayed to Annabel. "Already taken care off. It's coming up in the elevator now." She'd ordered it just before Annabel had gone to speak to Kevin.

Callen urged Annabel back into the chair, leaning against the desk right next to her, his hand resting on her shoulder. She was grateful for that small contact, that reassured her he was there.

When the sandwiches arrived, Callen noted that Hetty had come close to ordering a banquet . There was more than they could eat, but they all appreciated it and didn't need anyone telling them twice to dig in.

Gibbs joined them about twenty minutes later, scooping up a couple of sandwiches as he passed by the platter.

"I'm going to check out that address. Who's coming?" Gibbs asked. The security and protection on Stella had already been arranged, she would be moved within half an hour, well before they would arrive at the house. He wasn't going to risk turning up before she was secure.

"Not you," Callen and Grey said in unison to Annabel. She gave a small smile at that. Not even four days and those two were already in sync.

"Not me," she agreed softly.

Callen lent down, bringing his face close to hers, eye to eye.

"Here or the bathroom when I get back, otherwise you will be in trouble. And not the good kind." He wanted to make her smile again. It worked. It was a little bigger this time. Callen closed the distance slowly and kissed her, tenderly. Nothing more than his lips brushing against her soft ones, lingering slightly before he pulled back. As he straightened up, Hetty came to stand by Annabel. Hetty gave him a small smile and a nod, and he knew that Annabel was in safe hands.

"We'll be back soon," Callen assured them.

"Couple of hours maybe," Gibbs added. He had a feeling soon wouldn't be enough for either Hetty or Annabel after everything they had been through. They'd need something to focus on. Something to stop them worrying that they weren't back yet, at least for a while.

Hetty nodded and watched as the team of Gibbs, Callen, Sam, Kensi, Grey, Ziva and Tony headed to the elevator, determination in their stride.

"Annabel?" Hetty asked, turning back to look at her, concerned.

Annabel shook her head. "Don't give me that look Hetty. You know as well I, that if it had been anyone else but me in that room, Callen and Grey wouldn't have had a problem."

Hetty let out a sigh. Unfortunately she was right. Anyone but her and both men would have been able to distance themselves from the situation and see it as a way to get the information they needed. Not the nicest way, but they would have understood. Hetty watched as Annabel lent back in the chair and closed her eyes. Stepping over to Tony's desk, Hetty checked the time. It would be just before eight in L.A. She picked up the phone and called Nate.


	33. Chapter 33

_A/N - Welcome back Nate. Sorry to leave you alone so long! Hope I found my way into your head okay. _

_Sorry about any multiple alerts for the chapter, messed things up a little. Also, have taken a little liberty in making up some background on Nate. Hope no one minds._

_Again, thanks so much for the support for this story. I'm not quite sure when I'll have the next chapter up. It's a big one. Currently in being beta'd, then I'll need to make some changes but it will be up as soon as we are happy with it. _

_Disclaimer in chapter 1_

_._

**Chapter 33**

**.**

_LA - OSP_

Nate stared down at the phone, wondering if everything he had just heard was a dream. Hetty had just called. It was a short call; short, to the point and yet it left him feeling like he had just sat through a three hour lecture on a topic he wasn't prepared to hear about.

Hetty was fine. So was the team. Callen had a few injuries, nothing that would land him in hospital though. They were in Washington.

The other side of the country.

The part that was most shocking, even though he'd had his suspiscions, was that they weren't on a moral boosting mission. They were on the run.

Apparently the last few days had been spent in a blur of running from the bad guys. Including jumping out of a plane; Hetty strapped to Sam. His brain just couldn't concoct that particular image.

Someone was after Callen. That in itself, wasn't such a big deal. In a way, they were used to that. There was a part of Nate that doubted there would be a time in Callen's life when there wasn't the possibility that someone was out there looking for him. And not in a friendly way. They'd initially thought they were after Kensi as well. That had certainly shocked Nate.

Nate sat at his desk, his head resting in his hands. Things were starting to make sense now. Hetty knew he wasn't really cut out to be in the field. He'd gone out a couple of times in the past with Kensi and he'd done okay. Nothing fantastically heroic or anything, but he'd come back alive so that counted as okay in his books. But something like what Hetty had described, Nate would have easily been a liability. He knew it; she knew it. He would have been over-analysing situations, and not as ready to move as they others had been. It was one thing to analyse and give advice from the safety of the ops room when you weren't in the middle of a chase and had the ability to look at the situation from all angles. Not just where you were going and where the bullets were flying from. And jumping out of a plane? Not really his thing.

Hetty felt this was connected to Callen's past, in particular, his parents. She hadn't filled him in on the details yet though. Hetty had been more concerned on how Nate was, given what she had left him to do. He'd admitted that he was tired, that he hadn't slept much. He'd been concerned about where they were and Hetty's reasons for it. Her note and excuse had been flitting around in his mind for the last few days, when it had a moment free for flitting that was. He had absolutely no idea how Hetty kept everything moving so well in this office. How all the teams worked with the resources they had without running over each other. Somehow, Hetty always knew what her numerous teams were up to and where. He wasn't entirely sure how many, though his current estimate was eight different teams. He vaguely thought that he should know that, considering his position. Callen's team was their best, he tended to work more with them than any other team, but there were others. Others that he'd had to deal with last few days, to keep the cogs and the wheels turning in the machine known as OSP. And he had no idea where Hetty kept the oil. He suspected more than ever, that she was it.

Hetty had promised that when he had rested, after a couple of days away from the office, she would fill him in on all the details. She said they needed him, but it was too complex to pull him into it just now, given what she had just put him through. He was grateful for that. His mind was already starting to run through ideas on where he would go for the next few days of recuperation. Because right now, home wasn't where he wanted to be. The last few nights had been restless at best. Too much going on in his head to sleep properly. Though, in all honesty, it was an enlightening experience. One that he hoped would help him understand Callen's reluctance or inability to sleep a decent eight or so hours at night.

Nate wasn't entirely sure how long he had sat at his desk after that phone call from Hetty. He was jerked away from his musings by the phone ringing. Shaking his head to help bring him back to the present, he picked it up.

"Go Nate," came Hetty's firm order. No introduction, no small talk.

"Leaving now, Hetty," he replied with a brief glance around his office, wondering just where she had planted that camera.

"Good." Then the phone call was terminated.

Nate stood up, considered taking his briefcase for a moment, but instead, he pulled out his keys, wallet and phone, and locked the briefcase in his cupboard.

No work, not for a few days.

He walked out of his office, to his car, still trying to figure out where to go. Mountains? Beach?

A slow smile spread across his face. He glanced at his watch. 8.10am. He knew exactly what he wanted to do. He knew a raven haired beauty and a blonde haired angel who he would love to spend some time with. And, if he was lucky, he just might manage to make that happen today. He needed something to take his mind of everything and what better way than to be pulled in two different directions, with sweet pleas and giggles for him to follow. It would depend on who he had given in to last as to which direction they would go. A direction which would, in general, involve another photo opportunity with one of the numerous Prince or Princesses who floated around Disneyland, whilst heading for the next ride. The Prince or Princess option would depend on whether it was the eight year old or the thirteen year old he was due to follow this time. Yes, a day with his delightfully fun and energetic nieces was just what the doctor ordered. Now if he could just make it and get in touch with his sister-in-law before they left for school. He felt a slight bit of guilt that he was about to ask to take them out of school for the day, but his sister-in-law, Louise, was understanding and flexible about things like this. She knew Nate had a difficult schedule and making time to see the girls was important to him. Nate pulled out his phone and dialed, fingers crossed as he got into his car. He could already feel his energy levels and mood picking up. Maybe he'd even make it two days. It was Friday. He could spend a night down there in a castle with the girls. They'd love that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

_Washington_

They got to the address. This time there were no fire trucks or police vehicles. Gibbs had called to double-check that Stella had been secured when they were about ten minutes out. They approached the door, noting it was ajar. Everyone went on alert, guns drawn. Callen, Sam and Gibbs took the front entrance. The others moved to the back. Before they had made it through the door, they heard a gun shot. Rushing in, they saw the body, eyes open and staring into nothing, a bullet lodged in his head. From a quick glance, Callen was sure this was the man who they had been looking for. Unfortunately, they wouldn't be getting anything out of him. They heard a shout come from the back of the house and hurried towards it. Kensi and Grey came through the back door meeting them.

"Where's DiNozzo? Ziva?" Gibbs demanded.

"They're chasing someone. We didn't want to leave you three alone in case there were more," Kensi replied, a tad nervously.

"You take upstairs," Callen said looking at Sam, Kensi and Grey. "We'll do down here."

A few minutes later they had cleared the house. There was no one else in it. Hearing the back door opening, they moved quickly, but it was just Tony and Ziva. They shook their heads.

"Sorry Gibbs. He got away. We did get a description of the car. We've called it through to McGee," Tony added before Gibbs could ask.

They did a quick search of the house, looking for clues as to who their dead suspect was. They found some I.D on him.

"Tony, Ziva. Stay here," Gibbs ordered. "I'll send a team back to help and some extra security. I want this place dusted completely, inside and out. I want every single thing bagged and tagged and sent to Abby. Don't let this place burn like the others. This is all we have now."

Five of them returned to Gibbs' car and headed back to the office.

"Do you think we can we get anything more from Kevin?" Kensi asked during the ride.

"No," replied Gibbs. "He's given us everything."

The information had tumbled out of Kevin once he had believed they could keep him and his sister safe. It wasn't much, but it was something to give McGee, Abby and Eric to work on.

They'd been approached a couple of weeks ago. It was just a pick up and delivery job, but all three of the men had a reason for needing money and the payment had been very generous. Kevin's had been his sister's medical bills. Originally, there had been four, but a week ago one of them got cold feet and wanted out. They hadn't seen him again. Which was what had scared them all so much, because he had disappeared completely and one of them had been good friends with him. That was when they realised that things were bad, that there wasn't a way out. That was when Kevin had started worrying about Stella, because they knew everything about him.

"So what next?" Sam asked.

"Hetty," Callen replied decisively. "We find out what Hetty knows, what she hasn't been telling me."

Sam and Kensi exchanged nervous glances. Hetty had told them a little about what might be going on. They were unsure how Callen would react to what she had to say, to what she had been keeping from Callen all these years.

"Anything you want tell me first?" Callen asked, looking behind him, catching the exchange of looks.

"Nope," Sam replied.

Callen raised his eyebrows. "You know something." It was a statement, not a question.

"Hetty filled us in on what the others had found, whilst we were waiting for something to help us find you and Annabel. She hasn't told us everything. She wants to tell you first. She was just catching us up," Kensi said, in defense of their boss.

"It's okay, Kenz. I'm not mad," Callen reassured her. "There's just so much I don't know. It's frustrating."

"What else did you learn from Mitch?" Sam asked.

"It's been going on for a long time. Five years he's been working for this guy. He had the files on Hetty, on Annabel, on me, that Keelson had. They've got to be somewhere. Sasha was the daughter of whoever _he_ is. She's dead, Grey. John shot her."

"Is John alive?" Grey asked. Given everything Bel had gone through, he felt some relief that Sasha was gone. One less person out there to hurt her. There was a small amount of pain that one of their team, their family, was lost, but that got swallowed up by the fact that the Sasha they had known, had cared about, didn't actually exist. It had all been an act. If John was still alive, that would go a long way to helping Bel at the moment. Give her something good.

Callen shrugged. "I don't know. The explosion took out a couple of Mitch's men and then he was ordered to Cincinnati. There's a possible trail for a helicopter ride to Washington, but who knows. I told Hetty about it, so maybe Eric might have come up with something."

After a brief pause, whilst Callen thought over the conversation, he turned to look at Kensi.

"He wasn't after you, Kenz. He was just trying to split up Annabel and Grey. They were supposed to keep you on the run, whilst Annabel took me to the plane. They were planning on picking me up when it landed. You did good, Kenz. You got away from them and they weren't expecting that."

"Should have been if they'd bothered to check on her," Sam said with a grin and a nudge to Kensi.

Grey chuckled softly.

"Definitely the most interesting trip to a bar that I've had in a very long time," Kensi said, resting her head down on Sam's shoulders. She was so tired.

"Not as easy as you had hoped?" Sam asked, referring to their discussion right before they had left the office in L.A that night, as he moved slightly so she could settle more comfortably.

"Nope. Never is."

They drove the rest of the way in comfortable silence as there wasn't much else to talk about at the moment. It was time to find out who Hetty thought was behind this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

They were back just on the two hour mark. Callen found Annabel in the seat he had left her in. Her head was resting on her arm on the desk in front of her. She had her eyes closed and he wondered if she'd managed to get some sleep. As Callen stepped closer, her eyes opened and Annabel looked straight at him, like she had felt him watching her. Her head came up slowly and she gave him a small smile.

"Anything?"

"We found the guy, just a little too late," Callen told her. He watched the hopeful expression drop from her face. "But the house was still standing. Tony and Ziva are still there. We'll pull everything. We'll find something," he reassured her as he stepped over to her and crouched down. "We'll get him. I won't stop until we do," Callen promised her, looking up into her face.

"Neither will I," Annabel agreed softly. Callen placed his hand on top of hers.

"I know," he said. He knew he couldn't stop her doing this, but he'd do everything he could to make sure she didn't get hurt again. Or at least minimise it.

Grey stood back for a few moments giving the two of them some time, before he moved toward Annabel.

"Bel, has Olivia finished with Graham?" he asked.

"Yes," came the response from Hetty, not Annabel, as she joined them in the bullpen, along with Graham and Vance. "I've sent her out to do some shopping. We all need a change of clothes."

None of them were going to argue about that. It had almost been four days since they'd put on the clothes they were in.

Hetty turned to face Callen, a look of uncertainty on her face that made Callen frown.

"It's time for that talk," Hetty said. "I promised I would tell you what you wanted to know."

"Then you tell all of us," Callen replied.

"Why?" Hetty asked, seemingly unsurprised. Graham frowned.

Callen looked between Hetty and the team around him. "They've risked everything, Hetty, these last few days. They deserve to know why," he said.

"Are you sure?" Hetty asked.

"They're my family, Hetty."

"Then bring them. I'll get Eric," Hetty agreed as she and Graham turned, heading toward the stairs to the conference room.

Sam and Kensi stood up and followed . Callen turned to Annabel. "Come on," he said.

Annabel looked at him, slightly confused.

"You deserve to hear this. They pulled you into this, you deserve to know why." If there was anyone else who had a right to know what was going on, it was her. He could see she was still reluctant. He wasn't entirely sure why.

Callen tried again. "I want you there, if you want to be there. Grey too."

He held his hand out to Annabel waited patiently for her to make her choice.

Annabel was debating whether she could handle anymore information at the moment. But looking at Callen, seeing the truth in his eyes, that he wanted there, helped. She glanced at Grey, who looked like he was waiting for her to make the choice for them. After a moment she smiled, looked back to Callen and took his hand. If she was going to handle anything more today, she knew the only way would be with these two men by her side.

Callen didn't let go of her hand until they got to the conference room and took their seats. As he had made his way in, he looked around and saw the number of people in the room. Vance, Gibbs, Hetty, Sam, Kensi, Eric, Annabel, Grey and Graham. So many people. Apparently he had a lot more people worrying about him than he thought. He frowned as he realised a couple were missing.

"McGee and Abby?" he asked Gibbs, knowing how much the two of them had done already.

"They're still working on things. If you want them here, I'll get them," Gibbs offered.

Callen thought for a moment. If they were trying to find leads for them, it was probably better if they kept working. This meeting was pulling enough people off that as it was.

"Can tell them later what they need to know."

Everyone settled around the table, Hetty on one side of Callen, Annabel on the other.

"Who's going to start?" Callen asked, turning to his right to look directly at Hetty.


	34. Chapter 34

_A/N - All done. Finally. Thanks so much to my lovely beta - angelprincesslilac, for her scrutinising , polishing and help to make sure this wasn't too far into the realm of crazy. That being said, I have made a few changes since she last saw it and therefore, any mistakes will be mine._

_Will say this is AU. Haven't seen any Season 2 yet, so if there have been any hints in Season 2 about Callen's past that don't match up with what is in this chapter, that would be the reason. I've tried to keep things as close to the details we have found out so far, but can't guarantee I have completely succeeded with that.  
_

_Thanks for all the support on this story. Hope this chapter was worth the wait._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_._

Chapter 34

Callen noticed the strain on Hetty's face, the nervousness, and the resignation that something was about to happen that she wasn't in control of. Hetty looked to Graham, who was seated next to her.

Graham nodded and Hetty turned back to Callen. She took a steadying breath.

"Mr Callen, I have asked Graham if he would detail the situation for you, for all of you. He has more personal experience with this. I will answer any questions you have of me, but Graham is better suited to this explanation."

Callen nodded his acceptance and looked to Graham.

"This is complicated and well beyond classified. The amount of people in this room knowing this was never expected, but it is Agent Callen's wish and his right. So. It goes no further than here." Graham's eyes skimmed over the entire population of the room as he continued. "You are not to talk about this to anyone else. Agreed?"

There was a murmur of agreement from all around the room.

Graham brought his fingers together in front of him and blew his breath out over them as he contemplated where to begin. Dropping his hands down to rest on the table, he looked at Callen.

"Guess the beginning is as good a place to start as any. Approximately fifty years ago twelve people were picked to join a group; an elite, secret group. It was a combined detail of MI6 and CIA operatives. The group unofficially became known as The Twelve. Black ops at its deepest and darkest. They were trained to be the very best at what they did. I don't know a lot of details about what that was or how they did it. What I do know stems from the fact that I became one of their protectors. A select group of people that have been kept in positions of power to assist if ever the need arose. This group could only take action if something surfaced positively and directly related to The Twelve's activities."

Black ops. Deep and dark. The best. Yet they needed protection… What did these Twelve do and how was it connected to him? Callen wondered. Hetty had said this was personal.

"How would you know if something was related? You said you didn't know what they did," Callen asked. He'd try and not jump ahead, try to keep his questions current with whatever Graham and Hetty told him, even if he was itching to know how it was connected to him. He'd just have to have a little patience that they would get to that, preferably sooner rather than later.

"That was the hardest part," Graham agreed, "because we were allowed very limited information on their missions, and who and what they were involved in. The protectors have been chosen for their loyalty, instincts, and their ability to get things done. When a threat couldn't be placed with something current, if it was nearly impossible to figure out the source of the threat, or at least get some clues then we were to work along the lines that it was Twelve-related and investigate for ourselves. If there were enough indicators, then we would be authorised to see certain files that could relate to the situation. There are only two people who can authorise those files to be accessed by protectors."

Callen frowned, "Who?"

"Your President and our Queen. And they both need to agree."

There was a collective intake of breath at that revelation from around the table. There were none higher.

"How many threats have there been that were related to what they did?" Sam asked.

"Over the years we have investigated several threats, but only one was confirmed, with two current possibilities," admitted Graham.

"Is this one of the possibilities?" Kensi asked.

Graham nodded. "Yes."

"What about when G got shot? We had no idea who did that. Did you even think it might have been connected?" Sam asked, not quite able to hold out the accusation that came through in his voice.

"Yes, Mr. Hanna, we did," Hetty replied. "We explored that possibility, but there were no indicators of a plausible connection. As you aware, Mr. Callen has his own set of enemies. And you were part of that investigation, Mr. Hanna. Even though we didn't get much in the beginning, there was always a strong possibility that it was linked to someone from Mr. Callen's past. And, as such, the possibility that the threat was Twelve related, whilst there, was only slight."

Sam tilted his head at Hetty in conciliation of those facts.

Graham turned to Callen.

"Hetty was placed specifically to watch over you."

Callen looked at Hetty, studying her. What she had just said sparked a curiosity about her. He always knew she'd been watching out for him, but this took it to a whole new level.

"So, is this why you didn't fill Macy's position?" Callen asked her. Macy had been transferred while he had been on medical leave after the shooting. They'd never really gotten a proper answer for her leaving.

Hetty nodded. "Yes. I couldn't step down to you, but pulling the team closer to me was easy enough. Budget cuts were around and it made sense when she was moved, not to replace her. You were a capable team captain who really didn't need to have another leader in the chain of command."

Callen was ready to understand what his connection to this Twelve group was. A few questions ran through his mind and he finally settled on one. Callen turned back to Graham for his next question. He would get a straight answer this time.

"Why me? I wasn't part of it."

"Your parents were," Graham confirmed quietly.

His parents? Graham knew who his parents were. Did this mean Hetty knew, as well? His gaze slid to his boss. His look questioning. Hetty held his gaze, but before she could answer the question she could obviously see in his eyes, someone else spoke, flooring him with more information.

"It must have been Callen's dad that sent the letter to you when they disappeared," Eric said, glancing at the Director.

Callen's eyes flew to Eric in shock. His father? Note? Thoughts whirled through his mind, so many different ones, but the one that was screaming the loudest was the possibility that his father was alive. His heart started to race and he could hear the pounding of it in his ears.

"No," Graham shook his head. "Unfortunately, his father died thirty six years ago."

Callen turned back to Graham, his words making him feel deflated, like a balloon that had just been popped. One moment there was the possibility that his father was out there, the image of that note from Amy's grave flashing before his eyes. The next, that growing hope had been yanked out from under him.

"So, who sent me the note? It was hand-delivered by a courier we can't trace," Vance asked, keeping his question brief even though there was so much he wanted to ask. He had caught the array of emotions on Callen's face.

"We're not entirely sure. I will come back to that if you can give me a minute to explain some more about The Twelve." Graham directed this at Callen rather than Vance.

Callen nodded his agreement as he tried to keep his mind on the words that Graham was saying.

"The Twelve were active for just over ten years before a mission went wrong. They lost four of their own, eight survived and the mission was a partial success. They accomplished taking down an extremely dangerous terrorist cell. However... somehow word leaked out that it was possible the government was involved. The remainder of The Twelve came home and were immediately disbanded. Neither government could risk them staying together as a group, and they certainly couldn't risk another mission or leak. Those remaining were placed in other agencies, monitored and protected. They were smart though. They had kept documentation about what they had done. It was hidden, remained hidden, and, as long as they were protected from any repercussions, they would take the details to the grave. They weren't interested in destroying everything they had worked hard to save, they just wanted to be safe to live their lives. There were the eight surviving members, plus two children, who were part of the bargain, as well."

Graham turned his attention more to Callen for his next words.

"You and your sister were those two children."

His parents were spies. Somehow he felt that shouldn't surprise him. But it did. He'd hadn't really tried to imagine what they were like, his parents who he had no memory of. It had hurt too much. He'd heard stories from the other kids about what their parents had really been like, mostly bad stories, and he hadn't wanted to join in, so he had tried not to think about them. He'd learned how to avoid conversations about parents and family, learned the signs of conversations going that way, because he had nothing to add and he hated the sympathetic looks or the well meaning but unhelpful comments along the lines of 'you're probably better off not knowing, they were probably really bad, otherwise you wouldn't be here.'

Callen came back from his thoughts as Graham continued his explanation of Callen's connection.

"Your parents were the only ones who had a family of their own. Two years after The Twelve were disbanded, there was a threat. Someone accessed records that shouldn't have been accessed; those remaining had to be moved. It was precautionary only. The records were false - they weren't the real records - they were decoys. Guides were sent to escort those remaining on the trip to the airport, supply them with their new details, and hand them over to the escorts who would watch them in the airport until their flights took them to their next lives."

Graham paused briefly, gathering his thoughts before continuing.

"Myself and another agent were assigned to your family. We were in the car following, when a large four-wheel drive came out of nowhere and crashed into the car you were all in. Your father was killed instantly. You, Agent Callen, suffered a head injury and were unconscious for about forty minutes. Your mother and your sister had a few scrapes, but nothing major. We stopped our vehicle and just as we were getting out of the car, four men came out of the other vehicle and started shooting at your car. Between the two of us and your mother, we took them down quite quickly. We pulled you and your sister out of the car and, after ensuring that those involved wouldn't be able to be identified, we left and ran."

Callen felt cold. His father was definitely dead and someone had been trying to kill them. All of them. Callen mentally shook his head, trying to focus. There was something about what Graham had just said that he wanted to asked about. His mind finally grasped it.

"What do you mean? Not identified?"

"We placed the men back in the vehicles and set them on fire," Graham answered. "We were in the middle of nowhere. We'd been taking a long route to an airport that wasn't near to where you lived. By the time anyone found the vehicles, the fire had burned out completely, with nothing left. Identification was impossible at the time. Given other circumstances surrounding the accident, it was released that a family of four; two adults and two children died, as well as another vehicle with four adult passengers. No names were ever attached to any of the people, but we hoped it was enough for whoever planned it to believe that you all died."

"Who were they?" Callen asked. "Those in the other vehicle?" If they had anything on that, just maybe... Callen thoughts trailed off as Graham shook his head.

"We don't know. We had to act quickly. We couldn't let word get out that anyone had survived."

"What happened to my mother?" Callen asked, a tightening in his chest. She'd survived the ambush, but what had happened after that? Where was she now? His hope was rising, though he was desperately fighting it. He didn't want to come crashing down again.

Callen felt Annabel reach across and slip her hand into his, momentarily distracting him from that pain that was increasing in his chest. He squeezed her hand gratefully and twined his fingers with hers, wondering how she did it. How did something as simple as her holding his hand, feel like it was holding him together? There was so much being aired right now and he was feeling the strain; feeling like he was about to explode from information overload, emotional overload, tiredness and frustration. He imagined she was feeling something similar given everything she'd been through. Yet here she was, a simple touch, stopping that in its tracks for him; giving him a reprieve from the loss of control of everything that he felt was so close. So close, that it wasn't just knocking on the door, but the handle was turning and he was afraid that all he would find when the door opened were dead ends or more nothing.

"She was fine." Graham's words pulled Callen's gaze back from where it had dropped to his and Annabel's hands. Graham continued. "Aside from the scratches. So, was your sister. But you ... you woke up and knew no one. Didn't remember anything."

Callen saw sympathy and pain flash across Graham's face as he continued to speak.

"I remember the look in your mother's eyes when you didn't know her. I don't think I've seen anyone in so much pain as that day. She made a hard choice, Agent Callen. One I never would have had the strength to make."

He believed the look in Graham's eyes, believed his words, that what had happened that day had been extremely painful for her. It wasn't hard: she'd lost her husband and someone had tried to kill her and her children. That would be hard enough for anyone, let alone the rest.

"What did she do?" Callen asked softly. Annabel squeezed his hand again and moved slightly closer to him. He felt Sam watching him closely. His partner would know him well enough to understand how hard this was. He knew Sam would be looking for signs that he was about to lose it. But, he wasn't, not yet. His family, crazy as they were, unrelated as they were, were all around him. And with Annabel helping him hold it together, he was okay… for now. How long he'd stay that way would depend on how much else came and blindsided him.

"She sent you and Amy to separate orphanages, to keep you safe. She gave you a new name, new identity, new background. Then she left with me to the UK, so we could keep her safe."

Callen's whole body went rigid. He hadn't been expecting that. The words stuck in his throat, he tried not to think, tried not to judge, but she'd left them. They'd needed her, they'd wanted her. Why would she do that?

"She just left?" he finally managed to ask. There had to be more. She was an elite soldier, surely they would have been safer with her. She should have been able to hide them, protect them, especially with the help she would have been able to get.

"It wasn't that simple," Graham explained. "It wasn't meant to be permanent. She was going to come back when it was over. We were going to hunt down who had done this and make it safe again. In the meantime, she felt it was better that you, Amy, and herself were believed to have perished along with your father. You see, it wasn't just your parents who were targeted. All the remaining members of The Twelve were. Four in total died that day. Two," Graham nodded to Vance, "Managed to run. Something felt wrong to them and they left on their own before their escorts even arrived. One decided to take a different route than the escorts had planned. He was rather paranoid about security. He drove and was obviously missed. He returned to MI6 with your mother and myself. Unfortunately, three others didn't survive that day."

Callen felt the tension decrease in him, felt his body relax slightly. So she had left to protect them. He could understand that. He'd done it himself when he'd had to become a ghost, on assignments where he had to be someone else and then walk away. It was part of who he was as an agent. But they weren't family. Not unless you counted the times he had to walk away from the team.

"Did you find who did it?" Callen asked. He could hear his voice breaking, and saw Sam lean forward in his chair, like he was trying to get closer to him, reassuring him he wasn't alone. Callen glanced over at Sam and gave him a small smile, letting his partner know he appreciated his concern.

"No," Graham admitted their failure reluctantly.

"Where is my mother?" Callen asked.

Graham sat back in his chair, letting out a breath as he did.

"We don't know exactly. Four months after she came back to MI6, even with the deal of full protection still in place for all you, she disappeared. We weren't able to track her. Due to the circumstances on who she was, we couldn't just put her photo up anywhere. We promised protection for all of you. Doing that to find her would have been taking a huge risk of someone noticing who shouldn't. If they had of worked out she was still alive, it would have most likely led them to question whether the rest of you were too. We assumed she was safe, there was no sign of struggle or anything at her apartment, and we made sure we kept an eye on you and your sister. But for three years, even though we looked, we heard nothing, we found nothing on her. Eventually, she contacted us through one of the other Twelve. Told us she would let us know if she needed us. But, for the time being, she was staying out of sight. She reminded us to protect the two of you."

So she had still been trying to protect them. But how, and from who, and why did she never come back? Surely it must have been safe at some point.

_Really? Are you safe now? You're discussing the possibility that this has something to do with her? Maybe she is still trying to keep you safe. _

It was Nate's voice in his head, but it didn't stop the pain of abandonment that he was feeling. The words were logical, things he would have agreed with, had it been anyone else. But it wasn't anyone else. It was him, and she'd left him and never came back. It hurt. And he was too tired, too confused, and too overloaded to fight the pain, to lock it away in a box and forget about it.

Callen turned to Vance. "Can I see the note?" He asked, hoping that it might give him something. Vance pulled out the papers and passed them down to him. Callen read the typed note. Not quite what he'd wanted. He had vaguely hoped that the note was handwritten and would match the writing in the address book they'd recovered from Keelson.

"You think this was from her?" Callen asked holding up the note as he turned his attention back to Graham.

"Your mother and one other are the only two remaining alive of The Twelve. It would have to be from one of them," Graham said.

"What happened to the other two?" Callen asked, a brief glance toward Vance, having picked up a vibe that Vance had known them.

"Eight months ago they died," Graham answered. "Supposedly natural causes, but after this, we'll be looking into that further. Perhaps with Miss Sciuto's help."

"Just name what you need," Vance agreed.

"Who is the other one? Do you have a name?"

If there were only two left, and if they were close, like family, like he was with his team, they'd still be in touch. They'd depend on each other. He couldn't imagine trusting unknown people in power, not when he had Sam, Kensi, Hetty, or Gibbs that he could turn to.

"Names I can not reveal. I can tell you what I know about your parents and those dead, but nothing more. Protocol and security. I'm sorry," Graham said.

"Can't you contact him?" Callen asked, desperation stealing into his tone. "Get his help in figuring out if this is related to what they did? He'd know what to look for, who they messed with."

"I've tried," Graham assured him. "I have three contact numbers for him, but none are answering. I am continuing to try."

"What about an address?" He had to live somewhere. They had to know where to look if there was trouble. He was grasping at straws, he knew that. If he was hiding, he would make sure only those he completely trusted knew where he was. Those in power changed, so unless he knew them personally, they wouldn't be top on his list either.

"He only gave me one and he's not at that address. I suspect he has multiple places."

"How did she disappear? How did you lose her?" Callen asked, trying to keep the anguish out of his voice. They were MI6 and CIA! How could one woman slip away from them, especially if they were supposed to be watching her?

_What about you? You can._

"She was excellent at forgery and surveillance; breaking and entering," Graham replied. "Actually, according to the file I have on her, breaking wasn't necessary. She was very talented in anything that required a delicate, precise or subtle touch. She was quite the talented hacker in those days. Perhaps even better than you, Mr. Beale, at least in her time. She was teaching; training our new recruits whilst we searched for the people responsible for the attack on you. One day, she was gone. No sign, no trace, everything still in her apartment. She just, literally, vanished into thin air."

Again, so close, and then it was just pulled away. There was a very small part of him that wanted to wake up, pretend he'd never heard about any this, because it was cruel. He was getting the information that he had wanted so badly and for so long, but it was giving him nothing. Just more questions that would likely go unanswered, and the pain of knowing she was out there and didn't come back for him or Amy.

"Who was with you that day?" Callen asked. "You said there was another agent with you. Could they have been a traitor?" Someone had to have known where they were going. Someone had to have told whoever it was who was after them.

"No," Graham replied confidently. "Definitely not. I can assure you of that."

"Who was it? Give me a name," Callen demanded, his anger firing up at the lack of information that could lead him somewhere. He was close. She was out there. He had to find her. He needed to understand why. She was the only way he would. "Maybe they remember something."

Graham shook his head. "She doesn't remember anything."

"She?"

"Hetty."

Callen's eyes flew to Hetty, as did everyone else's. Hetty was there?

"What?" Hetty exclaimed, shocked. Callen had never seen Hetty look so surprised in the entire time he had known her.

Graham turned to Hetty. "There are two weeks of your life you don't remember, Hetty. Two weeks I encouraged you not to try to remember," he said gently.

After a moment, Hetty nodded reluctantly and let out a small sigh. "Thirty six years ago."

Graham nodded. "You were a young agent. It was a routine transfer. It was to give you more experience in the field. The danger was rated as minimal to non-existent. One morning you woke up and couldn't remember anything. It was, in a way, a gift. You'd been rather distressed by what had happened. You were even thinking about quitting."

None of them could imagine Hetty not being there; not being their fearless little leader who could whip them into shape with a small raise of her eyebrow.

"Why did I forget?" Hetty asked with a frown of concentration, as she tried to remember.

"I'm not sure," Graham replied. "We didn't look into it too much. It was better that you didn't know. Safer. Because you had been the one to take them to the orphanages. Separating them as had been requested. You knew their new names, you had an idea who their parents were. Not a specific one, just that they were extremely valuable agents and they had been targeted and killed. You also knew the mother was still alive."

Graham turned back to Callen. "You were protected as best we could, you and Amy, but we could only interfere if it was related to the Twelve."

Which meant they couldn't interfere with the hellish foster homes he'd been in.

"You say that as if you have known about this all along," Callen remarked. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about these revelations. Hetty must have known about this for a while, she'd known that he wanted to know about his past. She'd kept it from him. What else was there that she hadn't told him? He wanted to know everything she knew, but he doubted he was in the right frame of mind to have that conversation with her without saying something he might regret. He pushed back his frustration, the anger, and the feeling of betrayal that he was feeling towards her. He struggled to focus on the fact that she had been trying to protect him, like he'd always known she was doing. His little, kick-ass, guardian angel.

"In a way, I did," Graham agreed. "I was assigned to help keep watch over the other agent who was with MI6. To make sure any threats that came against him were directed to the right people so we could determine who the threat was from. I didn't know exactly what it was he had done, just that he needed to be protected. Almost six years ago, I became Head of MI6. It was a shock. I moved up the ranks so quickly. In the space of a year, I went from being the boss of two teams, Annabel's included, to being the head of the company. I was picked because I had been involved, because I knew a little and they trusted me. My predecessor made sure I rose up the ranks and, once I was Head, he filled me in on the finer details of the operations, what had happened, the history of the protection detail, and what I was now tasked to do. As Head of MI6, I had a huge pool of resources to call upon if needed. I knew who the others were, and we watched, we waited, and we were ready to protect."

From what, Callen wanted to ask. There was something in him that knew he would be asking the wrong person. There was only one person out there that could really answer that question.

"Corine and Jeremiah?" Vance asked.

Graham looked to Vance, sadness on his features at their possible failure.

"We didn't see anything that alerted us, but, after the fact, we wondered if maybe we hadn't been watching close enough. We accessed the autopsy results and whilst we were suspicious of the findings, or more what wasn't found, we left it alone, when nothing was released about The Twelve and we had no warnings. Seemed safer not to bring attention to it. There was the possibility that Hetty and I were being paranoid, but something still didn't sit right."

"So why didn't you look into it more if you felt that way?" Vance pushed, his tone frustrated. Callen could easily understand that feeling.

"We discussed it, but we decided it wasn't worth the risk. If we did that, we weren't sure that it wouldn't bring more danger to those we were still assigned to protect," Hetty answered.

"Someone thinks you failed with them," Callen added, indicating the note that was still in his hand. His mother, or some unknown man. The note in his hand was taunting him. Whoever it was had been close, maybe even in the building. Vance had said it had been hand delivered the day after Hetty had them disappear. He wondered if that was a coincidence or whether they had been watching him.

"Yes, someone does," Graham agreed. "We don't intend to make that mistake again. Hetty didn't hesitate to get you hidden when someone was coming after you. She wasn't willing to take the risk that this wasn't connected, given our doubts about Corine and Jeremiah and the recent activities regarding Keelson. I supported her completely. Still do. Given everything that has happened on this mission, I certainly believe this goes well above Mitch's capabilities. As MI6, we will definitely be investigating Mitch and Sasha further, which may give us more of an idea on who is behind this."

Callen should have felt reassured by this. But he wasn't, at least not a lot. He had no idea who these people were who would be looking into it. He could understand a little more now, Annabel's reaction to Olivia's presence earlier today. So much had changed, so many things weren't what she'd known them to be and he was starting for feel the same way. Shaking aside the doubt about Hetty that kept creeping up on him, he focused back on Graham's words.

"I'll be contacting the other agencies to ask for their assistance in investigating this. Whether they'll agree or not, I cannot be sure. There is enough 'unknowns' about this to warrant their co-operation, but it will up to them for the moment. Until I have proof or actual evidence that ties this to The Twelve, I won't be able to order the rest of them to get involved," Graham explained.

"Are you the other agencies' team leader or something?" Sam asked.

"No. No one is," Graham clarified. "But once one of us has verifiable proof of The Twelve's involvement, they have that authority. The repercussions of failure are too great to not do everything we can. Unfortunately, the risks involved, the possibility of bring attention to what should remain hidden, if this isn't related are also high, which is why there may be uncertainty from the others."

Sam nodded and then asked, "What agencies are involved?"

"CIA, FBI, and DOD of both countries ," Graham answered.

At the mention of CIA, Callen felt a desperate need to laugh, figuring that it would be just his luck that Kort was involved. But instead of laughter there was a moment of silence. Callen broke it.

"Why G? Why not a name?" He asked the question that had been burning in his mind for most of his life. "Why just a letter?"

Surely she could have taken time to think up a name. It's not like it would have taken that long. Pick a random one, first thing that pops into your head. It's not that hard. He did every time he needed a cover out in the field. Might not be the greatest or the most appropriate name, but it was better than a letter. He'd always assumed that the G on the birth certificate was a clerical error or misprint. He'd never thought it was deliberate. Though, he had to admit slightly that he was just a little fond of his letter.

"Your mother gave you and your sister those names," Graham answered. "We followed her request to name you G Callen and your sister, Amy Callen. All we had to do was go in and set up the background. Or so we thought. It was already done."

Callen frowned. "What do you mean?"

It hadn't been a spur of the moment thing? She'd planned on G?

Graham focused his gaze on Callen. "You both existed already. Had a family history, address records, schools records for Amy. It was all there, right down to the death certificates for a Malcolm and Jacqueline Callen, her and your father, ready to be issued the day after their death."

"How?" Callen asked in disbelief at the level of preparedness this showed. How did someone do that, especially the death certificates? He could understand the rest, it was just another life, but not the death part. He sat back in his chair, carefully pulling Annabel's hand to keep it with him, he was needing it more now than when she had first taken it. He moved slightly, as did she, into a position that was more comfortable for her, bring her right next to him, so that her arm was resting against him. He drew even more comfort from that touch.

"We don't know," Graham replied shaking his head. "All we know is that G Callen and Amy Callen already existed when we went into set it up. We followed the trail and found everything else, including the pre-filled death certificates hidden and ready to issue. She'd left us clues which led us there."

"That didn't tempt you to ask?" Kensi remarked.

"It did, but, given the circumstances, it was felt best that no one knew anything more than they did." Graham turned his attention back to Callen. "Your parents were the best at what they did and it was one of her specialties. She'd done our work for us. We didn't ask questions. We just wanted to get you all safe as quickly as possible."

"What were their names?" Callen asked.

"At the time we knew them, Rebecca and Caleb Young. You were listed as Gregory, your sister as Allison."

Could G be for Gregory? At least he had names now. He had something. Probably wouldn't lead him anywhere, but maybe he'd get some memories back with having a little more information.

"Listed?" Callen repeated after a moment.

"Yes," Graham confirmed. "That is what your parents had on your birth certificates. It's what they told us your names were."

"But?" Sam prompted sensing there was still a lot more to this story.

"They were extremely security conscious. Given what they did, it was to be expected," Graham added. "But when we went to track down which school you sister had been in, to inform them that she had been killed in a car crash along with you and your parents, we found no trace of her actually attending school. No trace of you either. We checked for medical records and immunisation histories. But Gregory Young and Allison Young didn't exist. Your parents didn't exist either, even though the agency knew they did."

Callen's heart sank a little, hope having risen that maybe with the names he could find something else. He'd known even as it was rising that it was false. If it had been as easy as that then surely either MI6 or CIA would have found her already.

"They had changed their details, deleted any history connected to those names and continued to exist as Rebecca and Caleb to the CIA, but were someone else to the rest of the world," Graham continued.

"Who else were they?" Callen asked, the feeling that everything was slipping away again, hopelessness starting to consume him.

"We have no idea. The house and bills were registered in a different name, one that also didn't exist past that. Though, that in itself wasn't unusual. No school reported children not returning for no explanation around that time in the area or even within the state."

"What state?" Callen asked, grabbing onto that little bit of information. He could start there.

"Virginia. You lived in Fairfax County. They worked at Langley at the time," Graham answered.

"They were good," Gibbs' commented, watching Callen carefully. This was a lot to be hit with and he was worried about his friend.

"The best, probably better than anyone actually thought they were," Graham agreed.

"Wait. Langley? That's the other side of the country. Amy's records for the orphanages and foster homes, they're all in L.A. How did she end up over here?" Callen asked, surprising himself that his chaotic mind had managed to pull that information together.

"You were delivered to an orphanage in Cleveland. They had an excellent medical facility attached to it and given you had been unconscious for so long, your mother decided to take you there, whilst Amy continued on with us to L.A. We drove across the country, delivered Amy to the orphanage and then caught the next flight to London after meeting up with the other member of The Twelve."

"Why did she split us up?" There was a sadness and desperation to understand coming through in Callen's voice as he asked the question. "Why?"

"She felt it would help. With limited computer records and you not remembering anything, she felt that the two of you would stand a better chance of not being found by not being together," Graham explained. "When Hetty dropped both of you off, she did so in a rushed manner and told them that your records would follow in a few days to a week. It was common back then for children to be placed into care and records to come later. It was to buy us some time to create your records."

"Except she'd already done that." Why had she done that? Why had they been so prepared if they were being protected? Why did she run from that protection? Why did the protection fail them? The questions continued to mount in Callen's mind; for every one question of his that seemed to be answered, ten more filled its place.

"But we didn't know that until later," Graham replied. "Agent Callen, your mother was in a great deal of pain during those few days. She seemed to switch off once you woke up and couldn't remember her. She became an agent on a mission rather than your mother, until we got to Cleveland. She did everything she could until then to make the transition into the orphanage easier on you. She didn't tell you she was your mother, because she didn't want you to hurt when she left. She broke down when Hetty drove away with you. It was even harder on her when Hetty returned without you."

Callen tried to remember that time, but nothing came. It wasn't like when Hannah/Amy had told him about the scar on his wrist, when he'd had that flash of memory of the red wagon incident. Maybe it was too close to the crash. This was so frustrating. He knew the memories must be somewhere in his mind. Why couldn't he recall them? Especially with so much information from what Graham had just told him. Surely it should be sparking something.

"You have no idea where she is now, or if she is still alive?" Callen asked. Let her be alive, let there still be a chance he could find her, get these nagging questions answered. She's the only one who can. His mind was getting frantic. He didn't know how much more he could take in, or how much longer before even Annabel's touch couldn't stop him from falling apart and losing it.

"No. I believe she is, but the last contact we had with her was ten months ago. She checks in once a year, I think to remind us that she is still watching, to make sure we know that she is out there and so is the information that could destroy everything."

"Who's after Callen?" Kensi asked.

"We don't know. But we'll figure this out, somehow," Graham assured them all.

Callen's expression was a mask of neutrality, at least he hoped it was. Inside, he felt he was breaking as his mind spun with all the information he had just found out about his parents and his past. It felt like he was on a super-fast ride at an amusement park. She was alive, he held onto that hope like a drowning man would hang onto anything that might keep him afloat. His mother was out there somewhere and he had no idea whether he would find her or not. He had no idea whether he would be able to get the rest of his story. She left them, hadn't come back, but she'd watched. Why hadn't she come back? Had there never been a time that was safe for her to return? Did she even care? Would he ever remember those early years? Could he get those memories back? From what Graham had told him, they had been happy, and she had loved him. That is if she wasn't just acting. He had to get that talent from somewhere, right? What if she was the reason he was good at being someone else, to be able to cut off his emotions? Not that he was doing a great job of it right now… All of this added to being pursued by someone who seemed relentless, who didn't care who was hurt in the process of getting to him, and finding out that it may have nothing to do with him and everything to do with his parents. He knew he had enemies, he'd made a few particularly bad ones, but whoever this was, seemed a cut above even the ones of his own making. He had to find her, and he had to find him. He had to know. Everything seemed closer - he had more to go on - but yet, everything seemed about as far away and unreachable as the moon.

Callen turned back to Graham, focusing on what he might be able to do to get answers, trying to push aside the turmoil inside for a little bit longer.

"Mitch had files on me, on Hetty, on Annabel. He must have been connected to Keelson and what he was researching. I need to find those files. I'm guessing they're more likely to be in the UK than here."

"You want to come to London?" Graham asked.

Callen nodded his confirmation.

Graham nodded. "That's fine. Olivia has had her team secure everything that they could find, that was connected to Mitch. I assure you, you will have complete co-operation and access. The people after you, we still have nothing to go on, but we will assume that this is connected to The Twelve and continue to protect you. Out of the people or groups that The Twelve took down or interfered with, this enemy will be dangerous and possibly out for revenge. They may be after you to force the details to light of what The Twelve did. If that happens, the consequences will be devastating. Now, if you still want to come to London-"

"I do," Callen interrupted. "I trust Gibbs to take care of things here." Callen glanced at the man in question who nodded his agreement. Callen noted the look in Gibbs' eye and knew that if there was anything to find, he would make sure it was.

"Fine, then there is one condition," Graham said, his tone very firm and authoritative. "You follow my orders, no question. You do what I say, when I say. I will protect you, Agent Callen. It's why I'm where I am."

"Fine," Callen nodded. "I have conditions, too."

Graham didn't look surprised, neither did Hetty. "What?"

"I keep the bodyguard." Callen glanced at Annabel, a look of surprise on her face. It almost made him smile, which gave him a little reprieve from the emotional turmoil raging inside him.

"You want Annabel?" Graham asked.

At that, a small smile did appear on his face. That was one way to put it.

"She's kept me safe so far. Don't want to start with someone new," Callen replied simply. It was a reasonable explanation, shouldn't raise too many questions.

"She's injured Callen," Grey commented with a glance at Annabel. She looked over at him, eyebrows raised.

"I'm right here you know. Do I get a say in the matter?" Annabel asked.

"No," Callen said. He wasn't about to admit that this wasn't just about her protecting him, but also the other way around. "Sam and Kensi come, too. I trust them. Three bodyguards has got to be better than one. And I trust them all."

"Done," Graham agreed, "with one addition."

"What?"

"Grey is also a part of the protection."

Callen remembered Hetty's comment that Grey and Annabel were a package.

"That's fine. I trust him. He protected Kensi well."

"Hell, why don't we just make it the entire team?" Kensi suggested. "I'm sure Hetty and Eric would love a trip to London."

"Indeed, I would," Hetty replied. "And I will. This has involved all of us, Graham. It's why I'm where I am, too. This ends. It has gone on for too long. It is time for us to finish what was started by Mr. Callen's parents. It is time to finally make him safe from at least this threat, whatever it is. Perhaps then, his mother may be free to come out of hiding."

Hetty looked at Callen and could see that he was struggling.

"I think we should give Mr. Callen a little time to process this." She stood up and left. Everyone followed except for Callen and Annabel.


	35. Chapter 35

_A/N - Thanks again for the positive reviews on the big revelations. Glad I didn't disappoint, at least not that anyone has said! ;-) All the support for this story has been amazing, encouraging and inspiring._

_Part of this chapter is dedicated to angelprincesslilac, who has put up with a lot beta'ing for me, in particular the last chapter of this story but also few other stories. As well as encouraging me and helping me improve my writing. I know how much she likes Callen/Sam hurt/comfort/interaction. So, after some after some suggestions from her on how to have Callen deal with everything, here it is. I haven't done a lot of the hurt/comfort Sam/Callen in the past, but I hope I've managed to pull it off here._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

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**Chapter 35**

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Sam was the last person to leave, looking back concerned at his partner and Annabel. Callen nodded at him, indicating that he would be okay, though Sam wasn't entirely sure about that. Sam could see the concern in Annabel's eyes and instinctively felt that she would perhaps be more help to Callen right now than he could be, having recently been through startling revelations in her own life. So, he stepped out of the conference room and closed the door.

Annabel turned to Callen. She stood up from her seat and moved to stand in front of him. Bending down, she cupped his face in her hand, feeling the rough growth of his whiskers under her fingers, as she looked into his eyes. She could see the confusion, the anguish, the lost look. She felt her heart breaking for him and she sent up a silent 'Thank You' to Tom, for showing her and teaching her how to be whatever Callen needed right now. Slowly, she moved her head closer and placed a gentle kiss on his lips as she breathed in the scent that was so uniquely him.

"I'm here, Callen. If you want me to stay, I will. If you want me to go, I will. But ... I'm not running away. I'll be here whenever you need me," Annabel assured him.

Callen pulled her onto his lap, rested his forehead against her cheek as she held him. He took some deep steadying breaths, felt himself relax slightly in the comfort of her embrace.

"Callen." She said his name so softly and he lifted his head to look at her. "You've seen me at close to my worst with what happened with Mitch about Zoe." She stroked his face gently. "You didn't run from me then. I won't run from you either."

Callen felt the tears push again at the backs of his eyes. He fought against them. It was instinct, fighting against signs of weakness.

Annabel lent closer, resting her head against his again. "I'll be what you need ... just need you to tell me," she encouraged, her voice not much more than a whisper.

The tears forced their way to the front of his eyes at the gentleness and concern she was showing him. Something he'd missed most of his life. Sure, there was the concern from his friends, his team mates/surrogate family. But he'd rarely had anyone brave enough to push past his defences, get close to him, both emotionally and physically. Just that once. He didn't know what to tell her, he didn't really know what he needed right now, except to sort out this mess inside his head and he had no idea how he was going to do that.

After a few moments of no response, Annabel pulled back. She smiled and kissed his cheek tenderly. "I'll be outside."

Annabel moved off his lap and Callen watched her walk away. He knew her slow pace was more than just tiredness. She was giving him space, but at the same time giving him some time to decide if he wanted to call her back, before she stepped out the door. And he did. And he didn't. Everything was so confusing, painful, unbelievable even. His emotions were raw, his mind a mess, but he couldn't open his mouth, couldn't find his voice to stop her. He wasn't used to sharing his pain. Hell, most of the time his emotions were off limits even to him. He'd just lock them away, deal with them later, though later rarely came, even when Nate prodded during a session. Sharing his pain - it was almost a foreign concept. Except whether he said anything to Annabel or not, she was sharing this with him. Her pain and his were mixed together, not by their choice but by someone out there, whose reasons for doing what he had done were unknown; unfathomable at the moment. The closer Annabel got to the door the more he hurt, the tightening in his chest increased with each step she took and the harder it was to stop more tears forcing their way to the front of his eyes.

When Callen saw Annabel's hand reach for the door handle and he felt the tears fall from his eyes, he found his voice. And, even though it went against everything he knew about himself, the word that slipped past his lips felt so right.

"Stay," he said, his voice just as low as hers had been, but in the quiet of the conference room it made its way to her. Callen saw her stop. Annabel turned to face him, but waited at the door. Waited for him to confirm his request, just incase she'd been hearing what she wanted to.

"Please," Callen added. He didn't want to be alone in his head, didn't think he could handle trying to sort through it on his own and her being there ... He needed her.

Annabel moved back to him, relief filling her that he was willing to ask, that he wanted her to stay. She sat down quietly, not speaking, just waiting; being there for him.

Callen moved his chair closer to hers and reached out for her hand. Their fingers threaded through each others comfortably, just as they had earlier when she'd reached out to him when so much unsettling information had been raining down on him. And just like before, it helped. He felt just that little bit stronger, little bit less likely to break. They sat silently, whilst Callen's mind tumbled over everything that had been said, trying to make sense of it in some way. But he had so many questions; more than he had ever had. The more he thought over the new information, the more he didn't understand and the more he wanted to know. He wondered if he was stupid trying to solve all of this. To try and find out a past that someone seemed to not want him to remember. To try and find a mother who had managed to hide from everyone for so long. The doubt crept back in; did she really care or had it just been an act? Another 'job' to her? Was it crazy to try and hunt down someone who was after him when they had no clue as to who it was or why; to hunt down someone who seemed to be able to clean up after himself and leave nothing behind.

Annabel's hand jerked in his and Callen turned his gaze to her. She was blinking rapidly and looked at him.

"Sorry. I dropped off for a minute." Annabel said softly, straightening up in her chair.

Callen could see the dark circles under her eyes. He probably had some similar under his. He stood up and pulled her gently to her feet and into his arms. He stroked her cheek, just under her eyes, with his thumb.

"Think I need to get you to bed," Callen said. "We all need some sleep. I can't think straight at the moment. Maybe it will help clear things up."

Annabel reached out and placed a hand on his cheek. "Do you want me to stay with you?" she asked. She knew about nightmares, knew that sometimes you didn't want someone to know you had them, yet sometimes you couldn't face them on your own. If there was a time for them to come out of the blue, it was when you were too tired and had too much going on in your head; when your defenses were shattered and you couldn't fight them off. Like now. Those were the times when you needed someone to help you fight them. Something that in their line of work was difficult to find; someone who could handle the potentially frightening and devastating involuntary responses that could occur when your mind and your body weren't inhabiting the same scenario. She'd been there, she knew what could happen, she knew how much it helped to have someone who could understand there with you.

Callen placed his hand over hers and looked into her eyes, wondering again, how she did it? How, with everything that had happened to her, could she put it aside to be there for him? Part of him didn't want her with him. He didn't want her to be a part of this. He wanted to protect her and he didn't know what else was going to happen before this whole mystery was solved, or if it ever would be. Yet, as much as he wanted that, he knew it wasn't an option. She was involved, someone else had tied her to his life, played with their strings and this was the result. He was sure this wasn't the intention, but he wanted her with him. Didn't want to let her out of his sight. If she could be there for him, he would be there for her too.

"Please," Callen said. Annabel nodded and they moved to the door together, taking a moment for him to get his mask back in place.

"Ready?" Annabel asked.

"Ready," he nodded and opened the door.

They walked down the stairs to the bullpen, knowing all eyes were on them, even the ones that were trying not to look. Callen felt Sam's eyes boring into him, trying to see behind the mask. If anyone could it would probably be Sam.

"Hetty," Callen said as they stepped up to his boss, "we need to sleep."

Hetty nodded. "Already arranged. The hotel rooms are being secured right now. We'll be going shortly." Hetty turned and picked up two bags, handing them both to Callen. At the confused look on his face, Hetty smiled.

"Some fresh clothes for both of you."

"Thank you, Hetty," Annabel said, noticing Callen's well placed mask slip slightly at Hetty's actions and concern. She knew how much Hetty meant to Callen, had picked it up from the looks and interaction between them. She was more than a boss. He'd said as much earlier. They were family. Yet he had learned so much about what she had kept from him, that he must be confused.

Hetty nodded and turned to Gibbs. "Well, Agent Gibbs. It has been an interesting day so far but, I think we've all had enough for a little while. Have you arranged the necessary transportation?"

Gibbs nodded. "DiNozzo, you take Grey, Olivia and Kensi. Callen, you're with me as well as Annabel and Sam. Let's go. Beds are ready and waiting," Gibbs ordered as he grabbed his jacket and keys. Hetty was walking off with Graham and Callen assumed that Graham had a car.

They all managed to squeeze into the lift. Callen moved to the back and pulled Annabel close to him, his arms slipping around her waist and kept her out of the way of anyone bumping into her. She lent back against him, rested her head against his cheek.

The trip to the hotel was in silence, everyone too tired to talk. Callen had guided Annabel into the more comfortable seat in the front with Gibbs, rather than the back. When they arrived at the hotel, Gibbs got out and walked them to the floor.

"You'll be safe," Gibbs assured them. "We've cleared this floor. It's just for you. Two agents at every entrance onto it, as well as to the building itself. Get some rest. No offense," Gibbs glanced around at all of them, "but you all look like hell."

Callen didn't doubt that they all looked pretty rough, four days on the run, barely any sleep, would easily do that to someone.

Hetty handed out the keys. "Sam, Kensi. Room 204. Grey and Olivia, 206. Callen. You and Annabel are in the middle, 205. Graham and I will be across the hall from you. Aside from the agents on the floor, you are well and truly covered. Know that you are safe and get some sleep," she gently directed her team.

Callen would have thought that he would have been paired with Sam, but he was pleased that Hetty had sensed what he needed, glad that he hadn't had to voice it. She might have held things back from him, but he knew that she cared, perhaps more than she would ever admit to him. He was still confused about his feelings for Hetty at the moment, still trying to work out how he felt about what she had kept from him. Though, even with that confusion, he knew that she hadn't done it to intentionally hurt him.

"Thanks Hetty," Callen said as he started to move with Annabel to their room, as did the rest.

Callen had just opened the door when Grey called out.

"Bel." Grey waited for her come back to him. This was private. Annabel smiled gently at Callen and walked back to Grey, who was standing by his hotel room door, alone; Olivia having already gone inside.

"What is it?"

Grey reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. He had some advice for his little sister, some he wanted to give her, even though he knew she wouldn't do anything about it right now. But he wanted to get it into her head, give her time to believe it, so that whenever the time was right, she'd be ready. He hoped desperately that she would take it when it came.

"Trust him," Grey said seriously. "He's not like Daniel. And ... you can tell him what you can't tell me." Whilst Grey hadn't taken his eyes off her whilst she had been in that interrogation room, he hadn't missed Callen's reactions to her being in there or what he had heard. He was pretty good at reading people, a necessary job requirement, and liked what he saw between the two of them.

Annabel looked up into her brother's eyes; those green ones that matched her own. The only real physical sign of the two of them being connected unless you saw them with their parents. She looked like their mother; he looked like their father. Except for the eyes, which they both inherited from their father. She reached up and placed a finger gently on his scar, closing her eyes briefly as she remembered how much he was willing to sacrifice when he had come back for her. Olivia had already been in his life, yet he had returned and he hadn't waited for backup; had risked his life to save hers. He'd come back alone to get them, and if he hadn't, she'd have died. She'd never told him what they had done to her. Only ever told the psychologist. She'd had to do that or she wouldn't have been allowed to return to work. It was the only thing she could do to protect Grey. She knew he had felt some degree of the pain she had endured, knew he'd felt it when she had died. She couldn't bear the thought that he would know exactly what had happened. Didn't want him to know the details of the nightmares that had taken years to stop.

Annabel reached up and placed a gentle kiss on the scar, pulling back and looking him in those eyes again.

"I know," she whispered. "He's like you and Tom all rolled into one. And more."

Annabel stepped back and turned to walk away.

"Bel," Grey called out again. Annabel turned her head back to him as her pace slowed. "I love you."

Annabel smiled. "I love you, too."

As she got close to the door to the room she was staying in with Callen, she heard voices. Recognising Sam's voice, she realised he must be in there with Callen. She moved to the other side of the hall, just across from their door but far enough to give them privacy. She knew they were close and Callen needed all the support he could get right now. So she stood there, leaning against the wall, and waited patiently for them to finish.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Sam saw Annabel head back to Grey. Not wanting to leave G alone, he followed him into the room.

"G?" Sam queried when his partner didn't seem to notice he had company.

Callen turned around. He hadn't even heard Sam follow him in. He was that lost in the murky waters of his mind.

"Sam."

"You okay?" It had been a long time since Sam had seen his friend and partner this tired, this readable. The confusion, the pain, the weariness. G was usually better at hiding those emotions.

"I don't know, Sam. When Hetty said it was personal, I swear I thought she was just going to tell me about some old enemy of mine who was out to get me." Callen sat down on the edge of the bed. Sam moved closer, though remained standing.

"Which would you have preferred?" Sam asked.

Callen looked up at Sam as he answered. "Old enemy would have been less confusing, less painful," he admitted. "Least I would have had some idea what we're up against."

Callen rubbed his face and tried to focus. "I know more about my parents, but there is so much more I still don't know. More questions than ever."

"Was a bit shocking. But guess you were right. You are a born operator," Sam said in an attempt to relieve the tension he could see weighing his partner down.

"Always said I was." Callen appreciated Sam's attempts and whilst the effect didn't last long, it reinforced the fact that Sam was there for him, would always have his back, no matter what they uncovered about his past.

Sam waited patiently. G looked like he wanted to say something more.

"She didn't come back, Sam. She left and never came back for me." Was he really that hard to love? Had he been a rotten kid? He had no memories of it so he couldn't even work that much out.

"G." Sam's voice pulled him back from that spiral of depressing thoughts. "She had a reason. From what Graham said, she wanted to protect you. She checks in every year, reminds them to watch you; to protect you."

"I'm not a kid anymore, Sam. Surely she could have come back. Together we could have kept both of us safe. What if she's..." Callen trailed off, not wanting to voice that thought, almost afraid that if he spoke it, it might end up being true.

"Someone gave Vance a note, probably her. So it's highly likely she's still out there," Sam reassured him, understanding where he was going with the unspoken question. G had wanted answers for so long, too long. He was so close. Sam could understand that the thought that he would never get them if something had happened to her, would be painful.

"What if he went after her too? Not just me." Callen asked, as various scenarios ran through his mind, none of them ending on the positive side. "She's not young anymore, Sam. She probably couldn't get away from his men if they went after her."

It had been hard enough for him and Annabel to get away from those men at the apartment. He couldn't imagine someone in their sixties being able to do that. He had assumed her age. Amy had been a few years older than him and if she'd had Amy when she was twenty, that would put her at sixty four at least.

"If she's anything like you though, she sure as hell won't go down without a fight. Even if she is old. I mean look at Hetty," Sam glanced to the door, half expecting Hetty to walk in. When she didn't he continued. "She's pretty confident around weapons. You should have seen her holding that gun on the way to the apartment last night. She looked as dangerous as you."

Callen actually smiled at Sam's statement.

"If something has happened to her," Callen said, "I'll never get answers to these questions I've got." Questions that had been eating away at him, that were consuming him.

"G, for now, just believe that she wanted to protect you, that she still does. Don't let it get you down." Sam was getting worried that G wouldn't be able to move on from this. He knew G had been obsessing over Amy's file, pouring over every piece of paper, so many times, whenever he had any free moments. He suspected that G knew exactly what was on every piece without having to look at them anymore.

"Bit late, Sam." Callen knew Sam meant well, that he was just trying to keep him going, but it didn't stop the abandonment, the betrayal, the pain of feeling left, lost and unloved by his parents, at least one of them. It wasn't rational. Graham had given him a reasonable explanation, at least theoretically. Emotionally was an entirely different scenario. "What do I do if I can't get answers? Just forget about it? How?" Callen asked his partner, the person who knew him better than anyone, maybe even better than Gibbs, and probably Hetty too.

"If she's gone, then we answer them for you. We do what we do best. Make up a life, make up a reason that will satisfy you."

Sam had a point. They made things up all the time, believed them for the cover. But that just didn't work. Callen shook his head.

"Sam, I can't pretend they're superheroes or something."

Sam raised his eyebrows, a slight smile twitching on his lips at Callen's choice of words.

"Maybe they were. Given what they did. G, it sounds like she cared about you. And if she didn't..." Sam shrugged. "Her loss."

Callen looked at Sam, struggled with the emotions in him. Sam, his team. They were family, so why did he feel such a loss at the thought that he might never find his mother, never find out who he was.

"You need me, just knock on the wall," Sam told him, his head tilting toward the wall that separated this room and the one Sam would be in with Kensi.

"Thanks, Sam."

"Either of you," Sam added. Whilst G was his priority, he knew Annabel had been through a lot too. He'd watched her, learned to trust her and even like her. G cared about her a lot and that made it automatic for Sam. He would be there for both of them.

Callen frowned. "Tell me something, Sam. After everything they've done to her, what she's lost because of me, why is she still here? Why hasn't she run from me?" Callen stood up and paced the room, the frustration at not knowing who this was, the fury at what they had done to her, flaring and pushing everything else from his mind. He spun around to face Sam. "How can she look at me without hating me?"

Sam stood up and walked to his friend, placing his hand on G's shoulders, hoping the touch would help ground him. Sam knew where G was headed. He was getting riled up, ready to fight the bad guys single handedly. Not good because when G got protective, he usually got stubborn. "Annabel cares about you, G. She doesn't blame you, because it's not your fault. None of this is. Even if this enemy was one of yours, it's still _not _your fault." Sam didn't know how many times he would need to say it to get it through to G, but figured twice was a good start. "You know how bad it can get out there, G. The things that the ones with no morals, no conscience, who only care about themselves or the money, will do. Annabel understands that. She can tell the difference."

Callen pulled away roughly from Sam's hold, frustration and anger remaining in his tone. "They shot at Kensi. They could have killed her. We could have gone off that cliff, Sam. The plane. What were they going to do with rest of you once they got me? I don't want-"

"G!" Sam almost yelled. Callen stopped and looked stunned at the forcefulness in Sam's tone.

"Stop ...We're not going anywhere," Sam continued. "We're in this together. We all have your back. Don't make me drop you and get Hetty to bring that wushu stick thing in to keep you in line." Sam voice softened. "We'll find out who did this, we'll take care of it. Together. Cause whether you want to admit it or not, you're not alone, G. You have a family. They may not share your blood or your DNA, but family we are and always will be."

Sam's words took most of the wind out of his independent sails.

"You wouldn't," Callen said, his tone much calmer than before.

"Wouldn't what?" Sam asked warily.

"Set Hetty on me with that ... thing." Callen raised his eyebrows and waited for an answer.

"Push me and you'll find out." Sam relaxed a little at the change in G, knowing that, at least for now, things were back on a slightly more even and predictable keel with him.

They looked at each other for a few moments, before Callen finally smiled.

"Once was enough with Hetty. I'll be good," Callen agreed. Hetty with a sharp, pointy stick that was close to twice her height was almost a terrifying thought. Especially as he suspected she really did know how to use it.

"There's a first time for everything. Looking forward to it," Sam replied, as a yawn caught him unawares.

"Go, Sam. I'll be fine," Callen said, concern for his partner taking over the need to not be alone. Sam had probably had even less sleep than he had, even if that extra for him was drug induced.

Sam stepped toward the door, turning back with one last reminder. "Just knock." Callen nodded his agreement.

Sam walked out the door and saw Annabel standing against the wall opposite, her eyes closed. He wondered how long she had been waiting and was grateful that she had given him that time with G. Sam moved over to her.

"Annabel," he said softly, not wanting to startle her.

Her eyes flew open.

"Okay … don't think I've come that close to falling asleep standing up before." Annabel pushed herself off the wall.

"You okay?" Sam asked.

Annabel smiled at little at his concern for her. It wasn't just his size that had Sam reminding her of Shawn. "I have a feeling I'm a little better than Callen right now."

"You've both been through a lot," Sam agreed.

"Yeah, but I've only had a few revelations. He's just..." Annabel didn't really know how to describe what she felt about everything.

"Had his world change, learned a lot, but nothing at the same time," Sam filled in.

"So much, Sam. I can't imagine what he's going through." Annabel's gaze went to the door. Sam could tell she was anxious to get back to G, wanting to be there for him.

"Can't imagine what you're going through either," Sam said sincerely. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to know that some of your team had betrayed you, that they'd been responsible for your child dying. He couldn't imagine what G was going through either; to be bombarded with so much information after everything else that had happened.

"Sleep well," Sam continued, not wanting to keep her from G any longer, nor leave G alone with his thoughts. "I've told G this and I'll tell you the same. Either of you need us tonight, just knock on the wall. We'll be right there."

"Thanks Sam." Annabel smiled gratefully at him. "Hopefully we won't," she added before stepping over and through the door.

Sam watched her go. "Yeah, hopefully you won't," he repeated under his breath and mentally crossed his fingers that she was right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Annabel stepped through the door that Sam had left open, closed it and made sure it was locked. Callen was sitting on the edge of the bed, elbows on his thighs, head resting in his hands. She moved over to him and gently tilted his head up to look at her.

"Go have a shower, get changed. Then we'll get some sleep," she ordered gently. It didn't matter that it was mid-afternoon. It had been so long since any of them had decent sleep and around thirty six hours since they had any that wasn't drug induced or a nap in the car.

"What about you?" Callen asked as he stood up from the bed, the weariness heavy in his voice.

"Had a shower at the office, after getting checked over by Ducky. Just need to get changed," Annabel answered.

"You can do that with your arm?" Callen asked.

Annabel smiled. "I'll manage. If you need me, call."

There it was again. She was there for him, in the midst of her pain, she still wanted to take care of him, comfort him. He knew she would have made an amazing mum to Zoe. Mentally he corrected himself, she was an amazing mum to Zoe, everything she had done for her and the love that she obviously still felt. She was a mum, whether Zoe was alive or not. He wondered if his mother felt the same about him. Shaking off the thoughts, he focused on what he had to do.

"Thanks," Callen said as he grabbed the bag Hetty had given him and went to the bathroom.

Annabel got changed, grateful that Olivia had chosen her pjyamas she knew she could get into easily, and slipped into the bed, finding the most comfortable position she could. Her body ached, her shoulder hurt, as did her head; the pain killers Ducky had made her take earlier had worn off. She had more, tucked away in the bag with her clothes for tomorrow. She knew from experience given how tired she was, if she took the tablets, once sleep claimed her she'd be out of it for a long time, and that wasn't what she wanted. Not tonight. Tonight she needed to be able to respond if Callen needed her. Normal sleep would have to be enough. Her head resting on the pillow and her eyes focused on the bathroom door she waited, but her eyes were closed well before it opened again.

Callen stood under the steaming shower, washing away the grim and the tension, at least some of it, from the last few days. The water stung slightly at the injuries on his wrists and arms from the handcuffs and the fall in the chair at the hands of Mitch. He turned to let the spray pound away on his back, his head resting against the cool tiles in contrast to the heat of the water. Even in here he could feel sleep pulling at him, his mind so weary that it wasn't even trying anymore to make sense of everything. Turning off the shower, he stepped out, got dried and dressed in the pjyama pants that Hetty had supplied him with. Cleaning his teeth, he looked at himself in the mirror and shook his head. Gibbs was right. He looked like hell. When he was finished, he stepped back into the main room and looked for her. She was asleep, her head resting on the pillow, turned toward the bathroom, her features more relaxed than he'd seen them since meeting her. With the light from the bathroom shining softly on the bed, he could see the bruise on her face and the one on her shoulder that the straps of the pyjama top she was wearing didn't cover, and he felt a small, familiar flare of anger in him that someone had hurt her. Callen slipped into the bed carefully, not wanting to disturb her. Not carefully enough though, as she jumped a little as he did and her eyes opened.

"Sorry," Annabel said. "Shouldn't have got into bed." If he'd needed her, she might have missed it. She couldn't believe she had fallen asleep so quickly.

Callen lent over and softly kissed her, just near the bruise, wishing it was enough to make it better. "You comfortable?" he asked before he moved away. Focusing on taking care of her seemed to take his mind off all his own issues, at least briefly.

"No," Annabel admitted. "But that doesn't seem to be affecting my ability to go to sleep."

"If you need me, let me know," Callen said, offering her the same comfort and support that she had offered him. "Now go back to sleep," he ordered her.

Annabel smiled and, as her eyes closed and the sleep started to settle over her again, she moved her hand across the bed and found his, linking their fingers as she drifted off. Callen followed within minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Annabel woke up with a hiss of pain. She was lying on her side facing Callen and his arm had crashed against hers. She sat up and in the dim light from the hall that filtered in through the crack around the doorway, she could see Callen moving around on the bed; hear his ragged breathing, like he was running fast.

"Callen," she called out softly, hoping it would be enough to wake him. She didn't want to frighten him and she didn't know what kind of nightmare he was having. Callen's arm came flying in her direction again and she narrowly avoided it, but she felt the shaking of the bed at impact and quickly moved off. Her own breathing heavy as she wondered what she could do to help him.

Sam.

Annabel moved to the wall and knocked loudly. She couldn't help Callen, she knew that. She only had one working arm, even with two she wasn't sure she'd be strong enough to fight him if she needed to. Nightmares tended to bring out strength that you didn't know you had. But Sam, she was sure he could handle it. Quickly she moved to the door, turning the small lamp on as she did. She heard the footsteps outside and opened the door, just as Sam was about to knock on it.

Sam looked at Annabel, saw the helpless, concerned look in her eyes and then, hearing a groan from the bed he turned. He saw G thrashing around. He moved quickly to his partner as Kensi stayed with Annabel and slipped an arm around her in a reassuring way. They stood there watching Sam try to wake Callen.

"Why don't you come next door with me?" Kensi suggested quietly. She could feel the tension in Annabel.

Annabel shook her head sharply. "No, I can't leave him."

Kensi moved so she could look at Annabel's face. "Not talking about leaving him," Kensi assured her. "Just to give him some time to come out of this." She didn't have any experience with Callen's nightmares, but she knew her own. And she knew Callen had been through so much more than she had and she wasn't sure if Annabel was up to seeing what might happen.

Annabel shook her head again and finally tore her gaze off Callen to look at Kensi. "I can't."

Kensi heard the desperation and pain come through in Annabel's voice and frowned. She waited patiently for Annabel to continue.

"Someone left me when I was like this; worse than this. I won't do that to him."

Kensi saw the determination in her eyes and knew she wouldn't be moved. The pain she had seen in Annabel's eyes made her wonder what had happened to her. "Okay," Kensi agreed as she moved back and put her arm around Annabel again, as they both watched and waited.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Sam moved to the bed quickly, watching every movement his partner made, listened to every sound as he tried to work out how to help him. G was definitely having a nightmare. Sam waited for a moment when G was somewhat still and then moved in. He put his hands firmly on G and spoke his name loudly.

"G, wake up." Sam's hand gave him a gentle shake to add emphasis to his words but G didn't respond.

"Come on, G. Wake up. Just a nightmare. Come on, G." Sam almost yelled the last part, trying to get through to G before he hurt himself. G was fighting hard against his hold.

Sam was about to try again when G's hands flew to Sam's neck and he got a really good hold around it. The next thing Sam knew he was flat on his back on the bed with G seemingly trying to strangle him.

"G, it's me, Sam," Sam choked out as his hands pulled on G's, managing to keep the pressure to extremely uncomfortable instead of lethal.


	36. Chapter 36

_A/N - Sorry for the wait. Christmas things happening over the weekend and time ran away from me._

_Thanks again for the support. _

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_._

**Chapter 36**

_**Previously -**_

_The next thing Sam knew he was flat on his back on the bed with G seemingly trying to strangle him._

_"G, it's me, Sam," Sam choked out as his hands pulled on G's, managing to keep the pressure to extremely uncomfortable instead of lethal._

_._

Callen was running; hard and fast, his gun ready. He saw a figure of a man up ahead. That was who he was after; who he had to catch. Somehow he knew whoever he was, he was one of the keys to finding out about his past. The figure turned a corner and Callen stepped up his pace. The buildings started to blur at the edge of his vision, the muscles in his legs burned from the exertion and his lungs sucked in air as quickly as they could. He made it to the corner and his arms flew out for balance as he rounded it sharply and kept running. He could still see the figure moving. He tried to yell out, to make him stop, but his lungs stole the air from his voice as they tried to feed his body enough oxygen to keep going. He briefly wondered where Sam was, but he couldn't remember Sam being a part of this pursuit. Sam would be around if he could, he knew that. The figure ahead stopped, looked back at him and then disappeared through a door. Callen didn't know where it came from but he found more speed, more energy. He made short work of the distance to the door and slammed his shoulder into it to open it, not caring that it would hurt. He didn't want to lose too much time trying the handle first. He seriously doubted it would be unlocked. He groaned at the pain but pushed through into the building. It was completely dark, except for the light that came in through the open doorway. As he started to look around and move forward, that disappeared too. Pitch black. Not even a glimmer from around the door.

Callen's harsh breathing echoed through the room, giving him the impression it was big and empty. He heard footsteps from behind him and spun towards the sound, gun raised even though he couldn't see. There was a chuckle that came from behind him yet again. It sent shivers up his spine as he turned again in its direction. Then he was temporarily blinded when a bright spotlight focused on him.

"So, you want to find your mother," drawled a voice; a flat un-emotional voice that restarted those previously felt shivers.

"Who are you?" Callen asked as he tried to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. It was in front of him ... somewhere.

"The one who has been playing with your life," came the answer from behind him, causing his heart to skip as he spun around. Couldn't whoever he was just stay still?

"What do you want?" Callen's heart raced; pounding so hard in his chest he was sure that it would break a rib if it didn't settle down.

"To help." The voice had moved.

Callen turned around, slowly this time, trying to listen for more sounds, anything extra to give his unknown companion's location away. More lights came on, making him blink quickly as his eyes adjusted to them. He saw seven people standing on his left, their heads covered, hands behind their back. None of them appeared to be moving and they all looked the same.

"Who are they?" he asked.

"They ... Well, one of them is your mother. You get to choose. You get to try and pick the right one."

"Pick?" Callen was confused. He couldn't make sense of this.

"Yes. Pick. It's a game. Haven't you figured that out yet?" the voice taunted. "I like to play games with peoples lives."

Realisation came swiftly. "You're the one behind this. Behind the threat, Mitch and what happened to Annabel."

"Of course." The man sounded almost proud of himself. "It's the ultimate game - life and death. My favourite kind. So. Which one do you choose?" The man stepped into the light as he said that, but his face remained hidden. His arms swept out, encompassing the seven covered faces. "The reunion awaits."

Callen looked at the people. One of them was his mother. He had to choose, but he, whoever he was, said this was a game. There had to be more. Callen felt cold inside. It couldn't be this simple. There was a catch, one he was sure he wouldn't want to pay.

"I don't know anything about them, how can I choose?" Callen asked, stalling as he tried to figure out the rest of it.

"There are only seven choices, Callen. How hard can it be?" This time the voice whispered in his ear and Callen spun quickly. "Choose." It came again, this time from far away. How did he move so quick?

"No. Not until you tell me the rest. What's the catch?" Callen demanded.

"Catch?" A chuckle again. "You are smart, I'll give you that. Yes, there's a catch."

More lights came on and Callen froze as he saw the rest of the people who were occupying the room. Gibbs, Hetty, Sam, Kensi, Eric and Nate. All standing there, heads dropped and obviously unconscious.

"What have you done to them?" Callen growled.

"They're just sleeping … for now." The man started walking along in front of them as he continued. "Agent Gibbs, the one who could be considered most like a father to you. Hetty, your little protector. Sam, ever faithful partner. Kensi."

Callen was frozen to the spot, he couldn't move.

The man ran a finger down Kensi's unconscious face. "Your beautiful team mate. Like a sister to you, isn't she. You'd do anything to protect her." He moved on. "Eric, the little geek brother and of course, Nate. Is Nate the one you are most willing to sacrifice? He is the one you know the least about. You don't like talking to him after all."

"What are you talking about?" Sacrifice? He couldn't possibly be serious.

"But wait," the man continued. "That's only six. There are seven options on the other side. We need someone else." He clicked his fingers and another light came on and there was Annabel, the same as the others. Fury burned inside Callen, directed entirely at this man who was playing with the lives of all of his family.

"Ah, the delightful Annabel," the man said, stepping closer to her. "So vulnerable after everything that she's learned. I do wonder what she would feel about this. How would she react knowing you were contemplating sacrificing them just to find your mother? Do you think she would still love you if she knew?"

"I won't," Callen denied. "I won't lose any of them. You can't make me play this game." Annabel love him? He could only hope he'd get the chance to find out if she did.

"Yes, I can." The man sounded so confident. If only Callen could see his face, but he kept in the shadows. "You take your pick on who your mother is. Get it right, everyone lives. Get it wrong, you lose one of them. You keep going until you get it right."

How could he get something right when he didn't know anything about her? How could this man even think that he would be willing to play along?

"I'm not doing this," Callen yelled. Suddenly the man was right in front, but still Callen couldn't see his face. He tried to make his body work, but nothing seemed to respond. He still felt frozen to the spot.

"Yes … you … are. I make the rules, you play by them or you lose ... Everything." His voice was menacing. "Now, make your first choice."

"No."

The man took two steps away from Callen and raised his gun, letting it drift over those who he knew.

"Eeny meeny miny-" He stopped and turned to face Callen and, even though he couldn't see his face enough to be able to describe it, he saw the evil smile that was lurking there. "Moe," came the final word.

Callen reacted, somehow desperation and determination to save his family finally breaking whatever invisible bonds there were and allowing him to move. He raised his gun and fired, except nothing happened. The clip was empty. Callen dropped it and flew at the man, hearing the shot just before he could knock the gun out of his hand. Callen's heart froze yet his fury raged hotter and his hands went to the killer's throat and slammed him into the ground as he hands tightened with everything he had in him. The lights went out as they hit the floor, but he didn't care. The man who had been after him, who had hurt Annabel so much, who had threatened his family, those he loved. He finally had him and he wouldn't let him go, wouldn't let him do this to anyone else.

"G, It's me, Sam." Callen heard the familiar voice. At least Sam was alive, though his voice sounded like something was wrong. He tried not to think who he had lost as his hands tightened even more.

"G, wake up." The stern voice and words of his partner snapped Callen's eyes open and he looked into Sam's wide eyes that were right in front of him. Where was the man? Callen shook his head as the darkness of the nightmare tried to settle again, but it was too late. Callen's grip loosened slightly as he started to come back to the room. His eyes finally focused on where he was.

Seeing his hands on Sam's throat, Callen pulled back abruptly; both his hands and his body. He moved off the bed and stood against the wall, as far away from Sam as he could get.

"Sam?" Callen's voice was nowhere near normal.

"It's okay, G," Sam reassured him, his tone surprisingly gentle for someone so large. "It was a nightmare. You're all right now." Sam stepped closer to his friend, watching every movement Callen made.

Callen managed to slow his breathing back to normal though his heart was still racing. His gaze slid to the bed and he frowned, fear tightening in his stomach. Annabel? His eyes flicked around the room until he found her. She was standing next to Kensi, her gaze fixed on him. That knot in his stomach disappearing as he saw she was all right. But what had he done to her before Sam had come in? He expected fear in her eyes after what he had done to Sam. But there wasn't any. Not that he could see from where he was. Concern, that was what filled her eyes, concern and care.

"G?"

Callen turned back to Sam. "Sorry," he said shakily, glancing at Sam's neck where Sam was absently rubbing it.

Sam dropped his hand away from his neck. "I'm fine," Sam assured him. "Are you?"

Callen flexed his fingers, trying to figure out how much control he had over his reactions before he moved. He seemed to be back. "Yeah," he said after a moment.

Slowly, Callen moved toward Sam, closer, to see for himself that his partner was all right.

"You sure you're okay?" Callen asked. He was pretty sure he had a good hold of Sam. He hated to think what could have happened if it had of been someone else, someone not as strong as Sam.

Sam nodded and, relieved by the answer and what he saw for himself, Callen kept moving to Annabel.

Annabel moved away from Kensi, stopping a couple of steps away so Callen could close the rest of the distance if he wanted to.

Callen stepped up to her, his hand going gently to cup her face so he could focus on her eyes. He could read them so easily and he needed to know she was okay. "You shouldn't be in here with me. I could've hurt you," he said. Could have been so much more.

Annabel shook her head. "No, you wouldn't."

She seemed to have so much confidence in her words and in him.

"I didn't know where I was. I didn't know who was with me. I hurt Sam." Even though Sam had said he was fine, Callen had seen the marks he'd left on Sam's neck.

Annabel placed a finger on his lips to stop him. "Mitch hurt me. Whoever is after us has hurt me. Deliberately. I guess my definition of being hurt has changed. You," she shook her head. "It would've been an accident if you'd struck out at me. That doesn't count, not after everything that has happened. Besides," she said with a small smile forming on her face, "I'm not entirely crazy. I knew I couldn't help you. I certainly didn't have the strength to bring you out of that. Sam did."

"You'd be safer in another room," Callen continued. Annabel straightened up at his words, determination flaring in her eyes.

"If you want me to go, you tell me," she said firmly. "But if you leave it up to me, I'm not going. I'm right where I want to be ... where I need to be." This time her hand reached out to his face and cupped his cheek and her voice softened as she held his gaze with those emerald green eyes of hers. "So, ball's in your court, Callen. You want me or not?"

Callen moved his fingers to run gently through her hair as he let her question run through his mind. She had to phrase it that way. There wasn't any other way for him to answer that question.

"Yes."

He couldn't send her away. It was selfish, in the opposite way to what he usually did. He'd push people away, supposedly to keep them safe, but in reality - and for some reason right now he could admit it to himself - he pushed them away to keep him safe. To keep his heart safe. Not knowing about his parents, the life he'd lived growing up with no one, it had affected him deeply, keeping people at arms length or beyond. Everyone left at some point and he didn't want that pain. He'd let someone in once, but when he'd lost her, he went back to his old ways, even given that he had loved having someone that close to him. Annabel had pushed past that wall, so easily. Or maybe he'd just finally found another woman who could handle him and his demons. One who, if he was lucky again, would love him despite them.

Annabel moved closer and wrapped her arms around him. "Good, it's settled. I'm not going anywhere."

Callen rested his head on hers. "Did I hurt you?" he asked softly.

"No," she replied.

Callen smiled, in spite of everything that had just happened. Somehow he knew. "Liar."

Annabel gave a one shouldered shrug. "So, your arm bumped into me once. No big deal."

Callen tilted her head up so he could look at her. "I'm sorry."

"I know."

Callen looked closely, studied her eyes. He couldn't find what he was searching for; there wasn't a shred of fear of him anywhere in their green depths.

"Anyone else hungry?" Sam asked, pulling Callen from his musings about why.

They all were, so Sam took care of ordering some room service. There wasn't much on offer as late as it was, so they ended up with some toasted ham and cheese sandwiches and a few packets of chips. Annabel put in an additional request for a slice of chocolate cake.

"Not worried that it will keep you awake?" Callen asked.

"The chocolate?"

"Yeah."

Annabel shook her head. "It's weird. Chocolate actually helps me sleep," she replied as she moved to sit back on the bed. Callen settled next to her, moving close enough that his arm was touching hers. Sam sat on the end, whilst Kensi went out and let the agents on guard duty know that they had ordered and were expecting the food soon.

Callen could tell Sam wanted to know what the nightmare was about. He also knew his friend wouldn't push. Neither would Kensi or Annabel.

Kensi came back in and joined them. Callen put his head back against the headboard and took a deep breath. They were all in this with him. It couldn't hurt to tell them his fears. Because he knew that was what the dream was about. His fear that his past would cause him to lose them. Normally it was just his past, the things he had done, but with the information that he'd just discovered, it was more than just his past that put them, his family, in danger. Somewhere along the lines, over these last four or five days, things had become clearer to Callen, not that he hadn't known that his team were his family. He'd just always pushed it to the back of his mind, let other things cover it up. He couldn't do that anymore and if they continued on this path with him, helping him, he knew that they would be facing even more danger. He also knew they wouldn't let him do this alone, even if he disappeared.

Right now, Callen's biggest hurdle wasn't trying to find some unknown person out to get him or to find his long lost mother.

Right now, turning from lone wolf depending only on himself, to one of a pack, a family, who defended each other and fought to protect each other - who stayed together. That was his biggest fight. He glanced around at the three who were there with him.

Sam. He'd been through so much with him. Sam had never given up on him, even when he'd been riddled with bullets. He always had his back, even when Sam was irritated with him and thought he was being an idiot or doing something reckless. Which he did have to admit, could be fairly often.

Kensi. So talented, yet with so much to learn and so much to give, if only she'd let them all in. He knew she held back, just like he did, even though they were like family. She didn't like to show weakness to them. Thought she needed to be tough, just like them. He didn't want her to be like him though. She deserved better.

Annabel. Unlike Sam, he'd barely known her a week, but that didn't matter. She'd been through so much at the hands of whoever was behind this. Yet she was still here. She'd reached out to him, helped him, been there for him, even with everything else. Just like the rest of his family had. He couldn't push her away, couldn't run from her, or them, anymore than he could cut out his own heart and still live.

Something had switched inside him. Lone wolf to one of the pack. As much as part of him still fought to be alone to deal with this, the majority of him was holding on to his family, his team. Fighting himself to depend on them, to let them help, to trust them completely. For once, the pack wolf in him was determined to win the war, not just this fight.

"I'm scared," Callen admitted to them, taking that first step. He saw the shock on Sam and Kensi's face at his admission. It wouldn't surprise Callen if it was the first time Kensi had heard him admit that. "Scared that whoever is doing this, is going to hurt all of you. That's what the nightmare was about."

"G. You're not going to run are you?" Sam asked, his eyes narrowing in concern at his partner.

Callen looked at Sam for a moment. Another step forward. "I want to. If you're not a part of my life, he's got no reason to hurt you." Except even as he said that, Callen realised that it wasn't true. Whoever it was, wouldn't care if he left. He'd still use them, would still know that he could get to Callen through them. After all, he'd used Annabel, someone he didn't know, had never met. And even if he did leave, the moment he knew any of them were in trouble, he'd be trying to find them.

"Tough," came Sam's response. "Got your back. He wants to hurt you, he'll have to answer to me."

"Don't even think about it," Kensi warned, when Callen looked at her. "We're in this together."

The determination in Kensi's eyes was stronger than he'd ever seen it.

"You just don't like it that he had someone shoot at you," Callen teased her a little.

"There's that, too," Kensi replied with a shrug and a hint of a smile. "You're family, Callen. Doesn't matter whether you run or not. That's not going to change."

Callen felt something in him at her words. Hope. He'd wanted Kensi to let them in. Looks like he wasn't the only one taking a step forward tonight. He nodded at Kensi, a small satisfied smile drifting to his lips, then his gaze turned to Annabel. A picture flashed through his mind from his nightmare of her standing there, what that man had said, the gunshot. He'd wanted the chance to find out where this was going with her. He could only get that if he didn't run from her. His determination to stay grew.

"He's already hurt me, Callen. I won't let him take anything else from me," Annabel said, holding his gaze. Three little words were right there on the tip of her tongue. She wanted to say them, knew she felt it, knew nothing would change that. She just didn't know if he was ready to hear them.

Callen's heart did a funny little jump in his chest as hope rose that she felt something for him. Something more than just the physical attraction that was obviously between them.

"I don't know what I would do if he hurt any of you," Callen admitted pulling his gaze from Annabel so he could look at the other two as well.

"The same thing we'll do if hurts you ... Take him down," was Sam's response just as a knock on the door came signaling that the food had arrived.

They ate in companionable silence, so much having just been said that they seemed to be digesting that as well as their food. Annabel even shared her cake with Callen. Sam and Kensi left, after making them promise again to knock if they needed them.

Callen closed and locked the door, turning off the lamp on the table before moving back to the bed. The bedside light was still on so he could easily see.

Annabel looked over at him and smiled.

"You know a girl doesn't share chocolate with just anyone, right?"

Callen looked at her and returned the smile slightly. "But I'm not anyone." He was a lot of people yet no one at the same time. He wasn't sure of the statistics but he was pretty sure he'd spent a huge amount of his adult life pretending to be someone else.

Annabel moved across to him to brush her lips across his. They were warm and soft and most definitely didn't stay there on his long enough for his liking.

Callen looked at her face, saw the dark circles that were under her eyes. He wondered if they had been there when he first met her, or it was all because of this mission.

"No. You're definitely not just anyone," Annabel said. "You are one of a kind, G Callen. A very special one of a kind. Good night." She kissed him, her lips lingering for a moment on his cheek, before she settled back on her pillow.

Callen watched for a moment as she tried to get comfortable.

"Come back," Callen said. Annabel frowned looking slightly confused. "You'll be more comfortable over here. You were the other night, right?"

She remembered waking up that morning. It seemed so long ago now. She been shocked to find herself there and she'd pulled away quickly, not wanting to admit how good it had felt waking up in his arms. She moved back and laid her head on his shoulder, her injured arm resting much more comfortably on his chest. "Is that the only reason you want me here?" she asked softly.

Callen's fingers gently touched her arm as he held her and he slid them over the soft skin. "No. Don't think I'll be sleeping much for a bit. At least this way, I know where you are."

Annabel lifted her head and looked at him. "I'm not afraid, Callen. Not of you. Not of your nightmares."

"You should be," Callen said seriously. Why wasn't she?

Annabel shook her head. "There are plenty of things out there to be scared of. You are not one of them." She looked into his eyes, "I trust you." After a moment she moved her head back to his shoulder and snuggled in.

Callen reached out and turned the light off, then placed his hand over hers on his chest. He lay there listening to her breathing relax and even out as she settled into sleep. He found his breathing falling into sync with hers and, surprisingly, he drifted off to sleep.

Callen woke up a couple more times after that, but exhaustion pulled him back to sleep quickly. Exhaustion and comfort. Her warmth, the gentle sound of her breathing, the feel of her hand resting on his chest and her head on his shoulder, became a comforting reassurance that he was safe, that they were safe, at least for now. He wondered if it was her presence that helped him sleep. Because it was real sleep, not naps or drifting like he normally did. But a deep sleep. Perhaps it was her, perhaps it was his mind trying to process everything; making him sleep to keep his conscious mind from messing with the information whilst that was trying to happen. It could also be the exhaustion. It was probably all of the above, because in one form or another, he'd had all the others and hadn't slept this deeply because of them.

Once, he jerked awake, another nightmare pricking at the edge of his sleep. He'd woken Annabel with his movements.

Callen started to apologise, but she stopped him.

"I'm here, don't worry. What do you need?" Annabel asked, her soft sleepy voice doing funny things to his heart.

"You, right back where you were," Callen answered. She'd moved when they'd woken up, and he missed the comfort and security of her being there. He could almost feel the lone wolf part of him howling and slipping further away with that admission. It had slipped out so easily; that he needed her. Annabel settled back down against him.

"Thank you," Callen said softly. He was grateful that the nightmare had stopped almost before it started. He didn't want to hurt her. Maybe there was a part of his mind that was focusing on protecting her that had woken him up so quickly.

"Anytime," she replied as she drifted off again.

The next time they woke it had been Annabel's turn.

Annabel sat up quickly, gasping for breath, her fingers gripping the covers tightly. She was fighting the nightmare that was wanting to pull her back; fighting to stop the images that were flickering before her eyes before they could settle into sequence and play like a movie. Callen woke and sat up, laid his hand against her back.

"I'm here," he reassured her softly, just as she had for him. Annabel turned to the sound of his voice.

"Need light ... need to see you," she begged desperately. Callen could hear the fear in her voice, the uneven, heavy breathing, and quickly did as she requested. When he turned back to Annabel, Callen saw the relief in her eyes when she initially focused on him. His hand went back to its original place on her back, the other to her face to gently hold her gaze on him.

"You're safe," Callen assured her. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but he would hazard a guess that it had something to do with what happened that time with Hetty or Zoe. He could see the rapid flickering of her eyes as she fought to look at him and not something that wasn't there.

Annabel managed to focus on Callen, register he was there. The pictures in front of her eyes slowly receded the more she could look at him. She was surprised how easily she'd been able to get away from it. She hadn't had one of those kind of nightmares since before she was pregnant with Zoe. When her breathing finally settled, Annabel tested out closing her eyes. When all she saw was black, she let out a sigh of relief and opened them again.

It was her turn to whisper, "Thank you."

"Quite a pair aren't we?" Annabel added. "Beaten, bruised and nightmares."

Callen moved back against the pillow and pulled her down gently. She snuggled in close, her body fitting so easily with his.

"Perfect fit," he added, trying to take her mind off the negatives of them as a pair. He felt rather than heard the slight giggle that escaped her lips.

"It's been a while," Annabel said softly.

"Perfect fit or something else?" Callen asked, gently stroking her shoulder as her fingers moved slightly on his chest.

"Both," Annabel admitted, yawning as she did.

"You want the light on or off?" Callen asked.

"On, just in case," she replied.

Callen tightened his arms around her slightly. "On it is. Sleep well." He closed his eyes and listened, not letting himself drift off to sleep until he could hear that she was sleeping peacefully again.

The next time they woke up it was morning and light filtered through the curtains. Callen glanced at the clock. 7.30am Aside from the fact he didn't tend to sleep for long, he wasn't surprised by how much time they had spent sleeping. He also wasn't surprised at how hungry he was, considering their dinner hadn't really consisted of a lot. Annabel stirred in his arms. He felt her eyelashes flutter against the skin of his shoulder as she opened her eyes.

"I take it it's morning." Her breath drifted across his skin as she spoke sleepily before she lifted her head to look at him.

"What makes you say that?" Callen asked. He was glad she hadn't had another nightmare, she really need the sleep. The dark circles weren't so bad this morning. Still there, but at least there was an improvement.

"Bedside light, not as bright," Annabel replied. "Is it just me or are you hungry?" she managed to ask before the yawn took over.

"Not just you," Callen replied. Annabel smiled and moved back to her pillow just as the hotel room phone rang. It was on her side of the bed, but Callen thought it was highly unlikely that she would be able to answer it easily, given that it was on the same side as her injured shoulder. Not really thinking, he moved and reached over her to get it, bringing him into a position right above her, his lower body pressed against her side. He heard her quick intake of breath and looked down, almost forgetting about the phone in his hand at the look in her eyes as she looked up at him.

"What?" he asked distractedly into the phone, as he thought it had been way too long since he had kissed her properly.

"Good morning, Mr Callen," came Hetty's voice in his ear, enough to temporarily bring his thoughts back to the phone call, away from the woman beneath him and his body's reaction to her.

"Morning Hetty. What's up?"

"We have secured a table downstairs in the dining room for breakfast should you and Annabel wish to join us. Unless of course, you are having room service," Hetty replied. The was a wealth of undertones to her words and Callen almost laughed at his boss' implications, especially considering how he was feeling right now. Tempting as room service was, he was happy to join his team for breakfast. This time.

"We'll be down soon. Just woken up, need a few minutes," Callen replied for them both.

"See you then," Hetty said and ended the call.

Callen reached over and hung up the phone, but didn't move away from Annabel. He looked down at her, wondering just where to go with this. He could see the heightened colour still in her cheeks, the look in her eyes that suggested she wasn't opposed to the position they were in. She led the way, reaching her hand up and stroking his cheek.

"Thank you for everything last night, this morning, whenever it was," Annabel said, her voice soft and inviting. Inviting him to do what he wasn't quite sure, but he was definitely interested in finding out.

"Same to you," Callen replied. Annabel's glance moved to his lips and back to his eyes. He raised an eyebrow in question.

"Girl can hope," Annabel said tentatively, as a smile formed on her face.

"For?" Callen asked. He moved his head closer to hers as watched as her tongue darted out to moisten her lips.

"A good morning kiss," she replied.

"Think I can managed that," he said as his lips gently caressed hers. Nothing deep, he wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to resist if it went too far. So he kept it to just a light, lingering brush, but the touch still sent sparks through both of them.

Callen pulled back slightly and cleared his throat before he spoke. "Everyone's already at breakfast."

"We should join them," Annabel agreed though she didn't move. That probably had to do with the fact that he still had her trapped under him. It took him a moment to get the urge under control to kiss her again, one that would definitely make them late for breakfast, before he reluctantly moved away and they both quickly got dressed, avoiding looking at one another, and went to join the others.

"Enjoy your sleep?" There was a cheeky and suggestive tone to the question Grey asked Annabel as she sat down across from him, Callen next to her. Annabel blushed slightly, grateful that Grey didn't know the truth about last night. She much preferred her brother in teasing mode rather than worried. She rose to the challenge though, having noticed a small, but telling mark on her brother's neck as he turned to face Olivia when she elbowed him for his question.

"Lot more than you two got, I'm sure."

"What can I say," Grey answered, not at all embarrassed by the implications of her comment. "She's my wife and I'll take advantage of her any chance she'll let me." Adding truth to his words, Grey turned and kissed his wife soundly.

Annabel smiled at the two of them, at the familiarity of the affectionate scene, as she reached for the juice that someone had already placed in her spot. It was only when she lifted the glass and her arm hurt, that she realised she hadn't put the sling on. She rested the arm back in her lap and changed hands.

"Disobeying doctors orders already, Bel?" Grey teased, though she could see the concern in his eyes.

"Forgot. Hunger was more on my mind," Annabel replied, sending Grey a glare when he glanced at Callen and raised his eyebrows suggestively. Thankfully Callen, and everyone else appeared to have missed the look, though she was still tempted to kick him under the table, except that he was sitting between Olivia and Hetty and she wasn't entirely sure how accurate she would be.

Hetty turned to face Callen and gave him a brief smile. Callen noticed that she looked unsettled and unsure. Similar to what he had seen on her face before the big revelation yesterday. The wheels turned quickly, sleep having given his mind the time to process things and he smiled back at his boss to reassure her.

"I don't blame you, Hetty. For not telling me sooner. I don't like it, but I don't blame you," Callen said. He could visibly see Hetty relax at his words. She'd only been protecting him, trying to keep him safe. After all, that is what the leader of the pack did.

"Thank you," Hetty replied, relief clearly evident in her tone.

"What are we going to do next?" Callen asked Hetty, as he reached for some pancakes that were on the table. It looked like Hetty had organised a buffet for them for breakfast, probably with the hope that it would keep the waiters away from the table and give them time to talk. Callen hoped she had more of grasp on their situation at the moment. He wasn't quite ready to delve into his mind yet.

"There are a couple of options. We go to London as you seem inclined to do. Or we trust Graham and his team to investigate that side of things and work it ourselves from this end."

"London," Callen answered easily. He hadn't changed his mind since yesterday. The files were his priority, it was what he felt would give them a better idea of who was behind this and it was something he needed to do himself. He didn't mind help but he needed to see everything with his own eyes. Gibbs he trusted to take care of things back here. He pushed down the idea of going on his own, of ordering his team back to L.A, back to their lives. Sam cocked one eyebrow at him curiously, as if he too was expecting that. It helped him not say anything. He knew nothing would be different in Sam's mind. He'd made his choice too last night. He wouldn't run from them. Defend them, protect them. Yes. Run from them. No. Not anymore.

"As I suspected," Hetty said with one of her knowing smiles. "We can fly out whenever we are ready, using the plane that Olivia and her team came over on."

Callen finished his bite of pancake before replying. "You know what Hetty, I almost think I'd prefer to fly commercial rather than private." Memories of fights, jumps and explosions still fairly fresh in his mind.

A chuckle went around the table.

Annabel lent close to him. "I promise I won't blow up the plane again."

Callen was slightly distracted as she brushed against his arm. The warmth and softness of her reminding him of what had almost started upstairs in their room. Right now he was more than happy to be distracted. The sleep, the time with her. His mind hadn't kicked in fully with everything else that was going on yet and he liked the calmness that came with it. Though he knew it wouldn't last much longer.

"It will be easier and quicker if we take the private plane, but I certainly understand your reluctance," Hetty said.

"It's okay, Hetty." Callen turned back to her. "I'll be fine. When do we go?" The sooner the better, but he wasn't sure how quickly things could be arranged.

"I'll contact the pilot and get a time," Graham said, standing up and stepping away from the table.

"So we're all going?" Sam looked around the table at his team, his focus ending on Callen who gave him a reassuring nod.

"Yep," Kensi and Eric agreed simultaneously. Hetty nodded as well.

"What about Nate?" Callen asked.

Hetty smiled. "Nate is a little stressed after having to run the office and trying to keep things together whilst we have been on our little adventure. He is going to take some time off and if we need him to, he'll join us in London later, otherwise we'll fill him in on everything when we get back."

Sam chuckled. "See, the place does fall apart without you, Hetty."

"I'll remind you of that next time you try to resign." Callen teased, though only partially. He really didn't want to know what it would be like to work without Hetty at the helm steering their ship through the troubled waters that they were bound to go through.

"I doubt you will let me get that far, Mr Callen. Though if it does, don't pull the same stunt you did last time," Hetty warned. "I might just take you up on it."

Annabel looked at Callen curiously.

"We lost a team member a few months ago," Callen explained. "Hetty tried to resign over it."

"I'm sorry," Annabel said sincerely, her eyes taking in the entire L.A team. She turned back to Callen. "What did you do to stop her?" The Hetty she knew, rarely changed her mind. She was a confident woman who knew generally knew exactly what she was going to do and why before she even spoke a word about it.

"Handed her mine. She wouldn't accept it. Said the team needed me." *

"They do," Hetty replied.

"They need you too," Callen added, looking back to the leader in question.

Graham returned to the table and all eyes turned to him.

"Plane will be ready to leave in two hours, or whenever we arrive at the airport after that. Hetty, what do you need to organise for your team? Passports? I.D?"

Hetty nodded. "Those and some clothes, unless they want their own and we detour via L.A."

"That'll take too long. It's eight or nine hours from here, further from L.A. We'll just go from here," Callen added. Taking them home first would more than double the time.

"Agreed. Eric," Hetty turned to him as she spoke. "I need to you to work with Abby for I.D's for everyone. Graham, I.D for Annabel and Grey. Do you have any? They left theirs in the locker at the airport in L.A."

"Yes, I brought additional ones," Graham assured them.

"What about a place to stay over there?" Kensi asked.

"We have an apartment available that I have assigned for you," Graham informed them. "I've invited Hetty to stay with me. The rest of you will be staying in the same apartment block as Annabel. It's an MI6 controlled complex. Security is tight. You will be safe there."

.

_A/N 2 - * This little bit references a story I wrote called Dr Callen, doesn't actually reference the show._

_Hope you liked it._


	37. Chapter 37

_A/N - So, off to London. Now Callen gets to learn a little more about Annabel. Since she has learned so much about him, thought it was only fair.  
_

_Thanks again for the support. Hope you enjoy._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_._

**Chapter 37**

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Given the difference in time zones and wanting to get the team to London and working as quickly as they could, Hetty decided to arrange the clothes once they were there. Eric and Abby quickly sorted out the I.D's and they were in the air before eleven am.

The flight was uneventful this time; no unknown hostesses, no jumping out of it and certainly no self destruct being set off. It was down time for everyone. Some slept, some read, some watched DVD's.

Callen thought. His mind ran over everything that he'd been told, trying to get it into the right spaces in his head. The details were so much easier than the emotions. Details were facts, pure and simple. There was no grey area when it came to details. The information about who his parents were, they were sketchy, particularly about his father, but more than he had ever had. He had names, though he was fairly confident that he wouldn't find anything from those names, but at least he had something. Maybe it might help some of his memories come back. He knew what they had done - that they had been in a similar line of work to him. Getting the bad guys. He had to believe that she did care. That his mother had wanted to come back. That she was still out there because she was the only one who could give him the answers he desperately wanted to know about his past. She had to be, they had to find her, because she just might know who was after him. If they could do that, then maybe they could find _him_ and make him pay for everything he had done.

Callen's glance shifted to Annabel. She was sitting next to him, staring out the window, at what he wasn't sure. Not like you could see much; water far below, sky above, the occassional cloud surrounding them. His hand slid into his pocket as he remembered earlier today at the office, when Abby had sidled up beside him, a bright smile on her face. He'd felt her hand at his pocket and he'd looked at her, curious.

"All done. Nothing coming from that puppy," she'd whispered in his ear.

Callen had smiled at her and kissed on the cheek. Abby had giggled and slipped away, just as quickly as she had shown up, back to finish off the I.D's with Eric.

Callen's fingers found what he was searching for and pulled it out. He mentally crossed his fingers that this was the right time and the right thing to do. Glancing around, he saw everyone was occupied with something else, so he reached out to touch Annabel's arm. She jumped a little.

"Sorry," Callen apologised. He hadn't meant to startle her.

Annabel smiled. "It's okay. I was just a bit out of it."

"I noticed. Too much to think about?" She had a look on her face that he was sure was on his occassionally. Overwhelmed and slightly lost.

Annabel nodded and rested her head back against the chair as she continued to look at him. Too much almost to comprehened. Five days and her world had changed so much. His world had changed even more. She was about to ask him how he was doing but he got in first.

"I've got something for you," Callen said.

Annabel frowned. "Why are you nervous?"

Callen chuckled. "How can you tell?"

"The look." Annabel smiled. With everything that they had been through, nervous was something she hadn't seen in him. At least not nervous on it's own. It had been there sometimes, but usually mixed with something else. Determination, confusion, concentration, teasing, desire. They were just some of the things she had witnessed from him since she had met him.

Callen held his closed hand out to her. Annabel looked down, curious.

"What is it?"

Callen picked up her hand and put what was in his into hers, closing her hand around it before she could see what it was. "I had Abby look at it to see what she could do." Callen watched as Annabel's eyes went wide as she opened her hand to see a necklace in her hand. Her necklace, her pendant. Zoe.

"But -" She didn't know what to say. She looked up at him, confused, unsure.

"It's okay," Callen assured her quickly. "Abby's made sure there is nothing transmitting from it anymore. It's just a necklace now. Yours."

Annabel looked down at it. Tears filled her eyes and overflowed.

"You … I ... " Annabel looked back at him and did the only thing she could. She threw herself into his arms as best she could, her good arm around his neck and held on tight. When she finally found her voice, it was barely more than a whisper. "Thank you."

Callen's arm went around her, held her close. He was relieved that she was happy. He'd hoped it wouldn't cause her anymore grief to have it back. When she pulled back from him, he didn't want to let her go, but he did.

Annabel looked down again and then she held her hand out to him. "Help me. Can't do this one handed."

Callen took the necklace and Annabel lifted her hair out of the way. He came in close and clipped it up, making sure it was hanging straight and around the right way. He looked into her eyes and she smiled, then she closed the distance and kissed him, oblivious to those around. It was one of thanks, one filled with emotion and gratefulness. One that quickly and easily turned heated until there was a clearing of a throat nearby.

Annabel pulled back and looked up to see her brother standing there.

"You have lousy timing, Grey," she muttered, though silently admitted to herself that it was probably a good thing that he had stopped them. She'd been so obsorbed with what they had been doing she had kind of forgotten there were others around.

"Actually, good timing. You two were starting to steam up the windows," Grey teased with a smile.

Annabel looked at Callen. She could feel the heat in her cheeks. Somewhere during that kiss she'd ended up straddling his lap, his hands resting on her hips, though his thumbs had found their way under her shirt and were stroking her skin; still were. Very reluctantly she started to move away and they both settled back in their respective seats. Grey looked like he was about to say something when he spotted the necklace, Annabel's hand having gone to it when she'd moved away from Callen. Grey looked at it and then to her face, shock on his. Annabel tilted her head in Callen's direction, for an explanation. She wasn't entirely sure she was up to giving one herself.

"It's safe," Callen said. "Abby took care of it."

Grey didn't know what to say. That didn't happen often. Callen had given Bel something irreplaceable, had thought to try and fix it for her. He nodded slightly and stepped away, giving them some privacy. He already knew Callen cared and wouldn't hurt her. But something like this was a step up from that. Bel was in safe hands with Callen, and Grey had a feeling he was about to step back from his role protecting her, and this time, unlike initially with Tom, he didn't mind.

Annabel turned back to Callen. "Where did you find it?"

"Mitch had it on him. When we got back, I went to Abby, asked her to find it and see what she could do. She wasn't sure if she could destroy the chip without harming the rest of the pendant though, but she found a way."

"I owe her. I owe you. This is all - "

"I know." Callen stopped her continuing. He knew this was all she had. "And you don't owe either of us. We wanted to. Abby has a soft spot for you for protecting me."

Callen remembered the chat he'd had with Abby when he'd told her about it, about what it had meant to Annabel and why she had given it up. Abby had almost been in tears, which was pretty un-Abby and had promised if there was a way, she'd find it.

"Something you want to tell me about you two?" Annabel teased. She hoped that one day she would get a chance to thank Abby in person.

"I saved her life once. She likes me."

Annabel slipped her hand into his, moved on her seat so she could rest her head on his shoulder. "She's got good taste."

"Yep," Callen agreed with a little chuckle.

Annabel smiled and stayed where she was, whilst she tried to figure out how to ask the next question. She lifted her head and looked at him.

"I have a spare bedroom in my apartment, if you want to stay with me. I understand if you don't and want to stay with your team. Just … The offer's there if you want."

Callen raised an eybrow, curious. "Now who's nervous?" he teased slightly. She was inviting to stay and he had no problem with that. She glanced away but he brought her gaze back to him with a gentle hand. "Yes," he answered.

"You will?" Annabel looked shocked at his answer. They hadn't really had a chance to talk about what was going on between them. She hadn't expected his answer to come so quickly or so positively. She had hoped but had prepared herself for him wanting to be with his team, his family.

"Yes," Callen repeated. "Time with you would be good. Especially somewhere safe, which I am assuming your apartment will be."

Annabel nodded. "The security is tight. You can't get into the building unless you are on the list. And Graham is the only one who approves the list. If you're not on it, you're escorted from the building quickly."

Callen raised his eyebrows. "How?"

"There's facial recognition cameras and software constantly scanning those who enter. It's fast. Less than a second to decide whether you are on the list or not. Security guards are right there and they know just after the computer. No one gets more than five steps past the entry door who shouldn't be there."

"Guess that would put a dampner on bringing a guy home after a date," Callen added. He was curious if there was anyone he should be worried about.

Annabel smiled and shook her head at his less than subtle probing. She teased him gently. "Don't bring my dates home."

Callen chuckled softly. "I asked for that, didn't I?"

"Yep. I haven't been on a date in a long time, Callen," Annabel admitted. "My life doesn't exactly fit with having someone. Can't really tell them what I do, where I'm going. Hard for someone to understand that, or accept the kind of things I would tell them."

Callen caught the flash of pain on her face. Somehow he understood what it was from. There had been someone, someone who hadn't understood her.

"Unless you already live it." Callen watched her reaction to his response. She held his gaze and smiled as she repeated his statement, giving him additional hope that things might just be going somewhere.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

It was late by the time they arrived at the apartment complex, Atlanta House, a part of the St George Wharf area closely located to MI6 Headquarters. Annabel had shown Sam, Kensi and Eric around theirs, made sure they knew where things were. They had all noticed the security downstairs. They'd been allowed through, the Concierge smiling and welcoming Annabel back as he had handed her the swipe cards for the two apartments. Swipe cards that weren't allowed out of the building. You had to hand them in and pick them up when leaving and returning. It was the half a dozen security guards that were milling around the lobby that had really caught Callen's attention. He'd only been expecting a couple and given the time of night as well, the numbers surprised him. He'd looked at Annabel in question when they were in the elevator. She seemed to understand what he was wondering about.

"Even more when it's rush hour. People leaving for and coming home from work makes things busy. Goes up to ten then."

"Why?" Kensi had asked.

"Because it would only take a couple of them to be in the bathroom and two or three people trying to get in who shouldn't, before someone else could slip by."

The apartment security was also part of the training for the security guards at the office. It was a relatively safe environment where new recruits could have some field experience and training in an uncontrolled environment. They knew what they did was important and they learned how to be alert even in a fairly boring environment. Helped them to train their minds to be observant in that kind of setting and not drift off.

"What if that does happen anyway?" Sam asked, more out of curiousity than any real concern for their safety. Sam had been impressed by the security and procedures, though he did wonder if they were a little over the top.

"It hasn't yet and I've been living here over six years, but the protocols include a complete lock down of lifts, all doors, including the apartments and the garage entry. MI6 is notified, with a team dispatched within three minutes to thoroughly search the premises. They have trial runs occassionally, just to make sure everything is in place. Their current record is fifteen minutes from start to finish. They have diplomats and other security risks staying here sometimes. It's probably one of the safest places in London to live."

Callen raised his eyebrows, not so much at the security, but that she had been living here for so long. If he added that piece of information to what he knew about her, then there hadn't been anyone serious in her life for quite a while.

After settling the others, Annabel led him two floors below to her apartment. Stepping through the door, she flicked the light switch on and the living area was bathed in a gentle glow from some table lamps. It wasn't bright, just soft. They put their bags down and moved into the room as Annabel closed the door and locked it behind them.

Callen took in the room fairly quickly. The tones were soft browns, greens and white. A relaxed, comfortable feel to it, not flowery or overtly feminine. It was a combined living/dining area with a small kitchen just off it and a hallway that, he assumed, led to the bedrooms and bathroom. He saw the photos that were on the shelves along with books and DVD's. Obviously she felt safe here to have so many personal items out on show. He walked over to have a look and saw plenty of pictures of Annabel, Grey and two older people he assumed to be their parents given the similarities between them. Olivia appeared in some of them, as did another tall, dark man, but it was a collection of three photos of a younger Annabel and another man that had his attention. Especially the one which had a chain holding three rings hanging over it.

Callen turned to look at Annabel, trying to decide whether to ask about the man, but he didn't have to. She'd seen what he had been looking at and had walked over to join him. She picked up the chain that held the rings, holding them gently in her hand. Callen noticed her smile was soft and loving, but with a touch of sadness to it. Annabel ran a finger tenderly over one of the pictures seeming to be lost in thought for a few moments. The picture looked like it was the most recent one of the two of them. She looked so much younger in it. Younger and very happy.

Moving the rings to her other hand, which was still in the sling, she slipped her hand into Callen's and led them to the couch.

Annabel took a calming breath, remembering what she had said to Grey barely twenty four hours ago. She turned to Callen.

"If you don't want to know, stop me now," Annabel said, giving Callen a chance to back away before she bared her heart to him. She wanted to tell him, wanted him to know about those special in her life. But she didn't want to force anything on him.

Callen, sensing that this is going to be hard for her and obviously important, whatever it was, reached out and brushed a strand of her hair off her face.

"Tell me," he encouraged softly.

Annabel looked down at the rings, her fingers running gently over them. She sat back on the couch next to him, resting her head back for a moment.

"I was married," Annabel said, lifting her head up and turning so she faced him. Her words didn't shock him, it had been easy to identify the rings as engagement and wedding ones.

"His name was Tom. I knew the moment he stepped into my History class when I was sixteen, that he was the one. I'd never felt anything like it. His smile, his voice, his touch, when I eventually felt it. It was like he was made for me, like he was the rest of me." Her voice faltered a little and Callen slipped an arm around her.

Annabel settled into him, her head back against his shoulder, grateful for the comfort he was offering. This was harder than she had expected.

"When did you get together?" Callen asked, wanting to show that he wanted to know, was happy for her to share. An image came into his mind of the pain and hurt in her eyes escalating when Mitch had made the comment about her not finding someone. He had a feeling that perhaps this Tom was the reason for it.

"Six weeks later. Would've be sooner except for an interfering, barely slightly older brother." Annabel chuckled softly. "Grey wouldn't leave us alone. Every time Tom came up to me, looked at me even, suddenly Grey was there. After six weeks I'd had enough. Told him I would never speak to him again if he didn't back off."

"Bet that went down well," Callen remarked, knowing how protective Grey was. He also realised just how patient she was to have put up with it for six weeks.

"He backed off. He knew I was serious. Next day, Tom and I were together."

Annabel was quiet for a few moments, whilst she twirled the rings carefully around her fingers.

"What happened?" Callen asked tentatively, using a question that she could answer in whatever way she needed to.

"We were together for six years. We finished school, went to University. He was studying to be teacher, a history teacher. I was doing law. Was going to follow in our father's footsteps, be a lawyer. Tom and I managed to get into the same Uni. After a year, we moved off campus and in together. I changed my mind after two years of Uni. I wanted to be a cop, not a lawyer. I had to change my major, catch up on classes, if I wanted to graduate at the end of my third year. Tom helped, even though it was his final year too, he was a tad more ... efficient than me," she said with a smile.

She'd never learned how he did it, how he managed to have an even heavier load than she had, yet get it all done with plenty of time for her. He'd been working on getting his History degree and Teaching degree in one rather than adding the teaching onto the end of it. Three years instead of four.

"The number of nights he stayed up with me, just to keep me company. There was one time I fell asleep. I had an assignment due the next day, was trying to get it finished. All I had left was to get it pretty, format it, things like that. But I couldn't keep my eyes open, fell asleep at my desk. When I woke up it was morning and I was in bed. I found him at the computer, printing it out for me. He'd stayed up and finished it ... Tom didn't try and stop me being a cop, didn't plead with me to stick with the safer job. He subbed whilst I did my training so we could stay together. Once I had my placement, he found a job teaching History nearby. He loved teaching kids. He didn't care where, just as long as we were together."

"Sounds like a pretty great guy," Callen said.

Annabel smiled softly. One day she'd have the courage to tell him how he reminded her of Tom. Just how great he was too.

"One night we were out at dinner," she continued. "I don't know how much he spent on it, but it was flashy and he was nervous. It was funny because Tom wasn't the kind of guy to get nervous. I was sure I knew what was happening. Then he stood up, came over to me, and..."

Callen felt her shoulders shake as she took a breath and he held her tighter, having a feeling this wasn't going in the direction he had first thought.

"He collapsed; fainted and hit the floor in a second. I didn't have time to catch him," Annabel said. Callen could hear the failure that she felt through her voice, but had no idea how to reassure her that it wasn't her fault. He knew that she would have caught him if she could of.

"I went in the ambulance to the hospital with him. It was four hours before he woke up. I called Grey. I'm still surprised he could even understand a word that I said. He and my parents came to the hospital, stayed with me. Tom's parents were there too. There were days of tests. I don't think I went home at all. I remember Mum forcing me to eat. I remember Dad, Mum or Grey, one of them was always with me. Whoever wasn't with me, was with Tom's parents. Eventually, they told us he had cancer. That it had crept up on him, nibbled away, a little here, a little there. A bit like termites, eating away on the inside of the wood, with no sign of a problem showing on the outside, until everything came crumbling down around you. He had no symptoms, but by time they found it, it was everywhere. There was nothing they could do, except treat the symptoms and keep him comfortable. For two months I watch him fade away, but he was still Tom. Everything I loved about him, none of that changed, even as his body faded away. About five weeks after that night, he finally admitted he was going to ask me to marry him."

Annabel stopped and wiped the tears away that had fallen.

"What did you say?" Callen asked.

"What's stopping you?" Annabel replied. Callen smiled at her response. It sounded so much like the determined, encouraging and loving woman he'd gotten to know.

"So he asked. And I said yes," she said. "Took me three days to plan the perfect wedding for us. The most important people only. His parents, mine, Grey, John and our best friend Marcus. That's all we wanted. There was a doctor and a nurse in the background, but they stayed out of sight. I didn't want the fuss or the big party. Just wanted us. I found a little church and we had a picnic afterwards in the gardens there."

She remembered that tiny little church. It wouldn't have taken anymore than about twenty people. She'd chosen it because, aside from it being beautiful and peaceful, the number of people she wanted there would be few and it wouldn't seem too empty like a bigger church would have.

"I'm sure it was perfect," Callen said, his voice encouraging her to continue.

"Two weeks later he died. Our married life was spent in the hospital."

"I'm sorry."

Annabel turned to him, tears still spilling from her eyes. She smiled, one filled with sadness but also happiness and love.

"He taught me what it was like to be loved by someone who had chosen you because they wanted to love you, not just because you were family, or because you fitted some list of qualities. He showed me how to give everything and expect nothing in return. He showed me that kind of love. Everything he said or did was perfect - for me. Not because he knew the right lines or was playing a game, but simply because of who he was, what he wanted to do for me and that he knew me. He would listen to me talk about the bad things at work, hold me when I cried, let me get it all out, before he would show me that there were good things in the world too. He'd pamper me, tease me, make me laugh, completely distract me, whatever I needed. Never expecting anything in return. And I loved him so much for that, and gave him everything too."

So that was where she got that from.

"When he died," Annabel continued, her voice softer than before, "I was lost, so lost. I could barely even think about what to do that day let alone where my life was headed. That was when John surprisingly suggested I join MI6. I'd only been a cop for a year but apparently I had the talents, according to him. He said he'd been testing Grey and I our entire lives with the little games he used to play with us." Sadness swept over her features at the thought of the man who had been so important in her life. She shook it off and continued her story. "Grey was already working there. John knew the connection we had, thought it would be useful. So I did. It gave me a whole different life to focus on, gave me a direction. I got to be with Grey again which I'd been missing. We never went through that phase of getting sick of one another. When I went to Uni he'd joined the military and our lives went in separate directions, until then. It took a while for us to prove our relationship wouldn't be a problem."

Callen digested all this information and came to a conclusion about her name. "You kept his name."

"Yes," Annabel nodded and then looked at him. "But not because I couldn't let him go. It was because of what he taught me. It made me the person I was, the agent I was to become. I was as much Robinson as Mason by then. I did what I had to do, to make everything a little better for someone or something. I cared, maybe too much, about what we did. Sometimes I had trouble letting a mission go. But his memory gave me the strength to keep going."

There was silence for a few moments, but she didn't seem to relax as if she was finished.

"Has there been anyone since?" Callen asked. He had a feeling that she wanted to tell him more.

Annabel pulled away and stood up. Callen felt the loss of her presence and warmth from beside him; wanted to pull her back. She turned and looked down at him and he saw the pain on her face. Pain, not the sadness he had seen when she had told him about losing Tom.

"Daniel. Six years later." Her tone was colder this time, not loving and soft. Cold and disappointed, though Callen wasn't sure if it was going to be with Daniel or herself. He waited paitently for her to continue.

"He wined and dined; presents and flowers. You name it, everything a girl could dream of, he did. Swept me off my feet. I couldn't believe I got lucky to have someone care about me again, who didn't seem to mind about what I did, how little I could talk about it, or that I was away for unknown lengths of time. I got blinded to what he really was. We'd been together for about seven months when I got ..." She let out a shaky breath. "That time with Hetty," Annabel finished.

Callen stood up at this as he saw her wrap her arm around herself. He stepped over and wrapped his around her. "You don't have to keep going."

"I just want to finish this. The time with Hetty, maybe another day. I haven't even told Grey what happened there. I just need to finish about Daniel."

Callen dropped a kiss on the top of her head. She relaxed into him a little.

"He umm ... He couldn't handle what I became after that. I wasn't the pretty, independent girl he could have on his arm when he needed someone; one who understood when he wasn't around because he was away on business. I hadn't been the clingy girlfriend. Or one that required a lot of work. But I needed him when I got back. Needed him more that I ever had and he wasn't there for me. He walked out, didn't even try and help me. I had a nightmare, my first night home out of the hospital. It was the very first one. I think I must felt safe in the hospital because I didn't have any there. I fell asleep on the couch whilst he was cleaning up in the kitchen. I woke up screaming. I couldn't get away from the nightmare, it kept playing out in front of my eyes. I felt like I was back there. It was so terrifying, everything was so real."

The words were rushing out now and Callen held her just that little bit closer.

"I could see him though. Amongst the nightmare. See him standing in that room, looking at me like I was crazy. I called out to him but he shook his head, grabbed his jacket and left. He left me alone. To relive it."

Callen consciously tried to loosen his muscles, he was tense and furious with whoever this Daniel was. He knew what nightmares were like, though he was usually able to handle them on his own now. He still remembered the panic from the early ones, remembered the terror of his first really bad one, not the ones of a child but the ones of an adult who'd been through more than anyone should have. The one he'd had last night had been scary but he knew they could be a lot worse. He stroked her back trying to comfort her. He felt her slowly relax in his arms as she continued, so he kept going as she talked.

"I don't know how long I was alone for, but I was still screaming when Grey showed up. Having Grey there, it … it eventually helped me come home, helped me realise I wasn't in that hell anymore. Gave me something to focus on instead of the nightmare. Grey stayed that night, held me whilst I tried to get some sleep. He organised my trip to Ireland, to be with Mum and Dad for a while. Took care of the move into here hoping it would help, that the security here would make me feel safe. The next morning though, Daniel called. Left me a message to tell me it was over. Daniel taught me what love shouldn't be like. Selfish, conceited and all about what you wanted, not the other person."

She let out a breath, tried to relax now that she had finished. She felt the warmth of his hand moving gently on her back.

"There's been no one since. Mitch I didn't love. It was a very bad day, things went so wrong and we almost lost everyone. I guess I needed to feel alive again and it just happened. I can't regret it, I love Zoe. I hate what happened, but I had her in my arms for one day and in me for nine months. I can't regret the love that I felt for her. There's been no one since … until you."

They were silent for a moment before Annabel moved and placed her hand softly against his cheek, looking up into his face. She didn't want to pressure him about feelings or commitment. She'd just wanted him to know that he was important to her.

"I'm not trying to push for anything and I'm not looking for someone to replace Tom. That could never happen. He and I, it was that first love, highschool sweetheart, slowly growing kind of love. I know that I won't have that with anyone else. It will be different." She looked at the rings in her hand. Her engagement and wedding ring, Tom's wedding ring. "I don't keep these because I want him back. Though I can't deny that I haven't wished he hadn't died, that we'd had that happily ever after. But I keep them because they are a part of who I am, my life with him made me who I am now and I am so grateful for what he gave me."

Annabel hoped desperately that Callen understood.

"Jennifer," Callen said softly.

Annabel looked at him, slightly confused.

"Jennifer was my Tom. Sort of. It wasn't the highschool sweetheart type though." Callen led them back to the couch. They sat down together and Callen pulled her legs up over his lap so she was facing him side on and sitting close. Close enough that if he wanted to, he could pull her into his arms or lap.

"It was about fourteen years ago now. We were both FBI. I got transferred into the team she was in. For a month, she drove me crazy, not in a good way either. I had no idea how I was going to work with her. She had this habit of saying the oddest things in the midst of something really awful. Pointing out a pretty flower, bringing up some funny movie or book or something equally inappropriate. Nothing at all to do with the case in front of us, and usually when she should have been saying something case related. It would just be dropped in the middle, a sentence about the case, an odd one, then back to the case. I couldn't understand how our boss stood for it. It seemed so unprofessional. I snapped at her a few times, telling her to stop it. But she just looked at me with her brown eyes, shook her head and went back to what she was doing."

Callen remembered those eyes. They were the colour of chocolate with amber flecks. Melted chocolate, varying between milk and dark depending on the intensity of the emotions she was feeling at the time. He couldn't remember the number of times he'd got lost in them; when time had ticked away and he come back to the present to find her silently laughing at him a little. She'd found it funny that someone so focused as he was could get lost looking into her eyes.

"She didn't seem to care what I thought," Callen continued. "I was attracted to her, but her comments distracted me from that and I certainly didn't have any thoughts of something happening between the two of us."

It had been the furtherest thing from his mind, even when some of the team had made comments about her being available, asked him what his type was. He'd always brushed them off with 'definitely not her' or 'so' or 'if you like that kind of thing' comments.

"Then one day she was off sick and we had a case. It was pretty gruesome, but we'd dealt with worse." Callen paused for a moment, thinking about what he was about to say, wondering if he could get the explanation right. It had been so long since he'd spoken about Jennifer to anyone. Aside from Gibbs. "Except this time, this time it was harder. It was right before my eyes all day, no reprieve. Everyone was feeling the same and we were all snapping at one another. She came back the next day. It took us three more days to clear up the case and get the person responsible. Once it was all over, I went home. I was having a drink when it hit me that those last three days had been so much easier because of her. Her comments, those little things that had driven me crazy, that I thought I hated … They were the things that made our job just that little bit easier, made it bearable. The first day of that case had been so hard because we didn't have that. So, I went to her place. To apologise for snapping. To thank her for what she did."

"What happened when you got there?" Annabel asked.

"She reluctantly let me in. She'd been crying. After I apologised, she looked at me with those brown eyes of hers, briming with tears again. I must have looked shocked or something at the sight and she turned away saying, 'Did you really think I didn't feel anything? That I was heartless?' I reached out and turned her back around to face me, meant to say no but ended up kissing her." Her eyes had been full of tears, her bottom lip caught between her teeth trying to stop it trembling. He'd acted on instinct.

"Do that with all girls who cry?" Annabel asked, teasing slightly.

Callen smiled. "Actually only the two of you." He hadn't realised until that moment that it had been the same feelings that had caused him to kiss her that day when she'd told him about Zoe. It made him wonder just when he'd fallen for her.

"What did she do?"

"Kissed me back. When we stopped, she told me that if I ever took that long to kiss her again after I walked into her apartment I would regret it." Callen chuckled softly at the memory. It was at that time that it hit him that he cared for her, more than just as a team mate. He remembered feeling like he'd just been hit with a ton of bricks when he'd looked into her eyes after that kiss.

"And?" Annabel prompted.

"I'm not stupid." Callen grinned. "Didn't make that mistake again. We were together for three years, before a drunk driver crashed into her, forcing her car onto the other side of the road into the path of a truck. The truck driver couldn't stop in time and slammed into her, sending the car flying off the overpass and tumbling into the traffic below." He didn't manage to hold back the shudder that went through him as the picture of her in the morgue flashed before his eyes when he had to go and identify the body.

"I'm sorry," Annabel whispered as she moved slightly closer to him, wanting to comfort him.

They were silent for a little while, both remembering those they'd loved and lost, both thinking about the possibilities of what was going on with them. Annabel's hand was resting on his chest, a comforting warmth seeping through his shirt to his skin. He had his hand on her leg, a similar feeling going through her. Annabel lifted her head up that had drifted to his shoulder, during the silence and looked at him.

"I don't know what might happen between us, don't know how it would work, but ... I want to find out," she nervously admitted. She knew she loved him, that wasn't the problem. There was just so much going one around them, so many uncertainties.

"So do I," Callen agreed.

Annabel moved her head closer to his, rested her forehead against his cheek. She closed her eyes and revelled in the feel of having him here, next to her. Knowing that he wanted to try too. Callen's hand slipped up to her head and gently tilted it to face him before his lips came to hers, in an extremely gentle kiss. Until she increased the pressure and he felt her lips part slightly. Slipping his hand around the back of her neck, he deepened the kiss. Her free arm wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer, the two of them moving back together, partially lying on the couch. Callen pulled back before it could go any further.

"You're hurt. This can wait," he said. "We should get some sleep." He hadn't realised how late it was until he glanced at the clock. It was well past midnight, closer to one am.

Annabel closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them she had some sembalance of control of her actions. She moved her legs off him and stood up. She looked down at him and smiled.

"Your choice. Guest room or my room," she said.

Callen hadn't been expecting the offer. Didn't mean he hadn't hoped.

"Where will you be?" Callen asked. He wanted to make sure she was sure about this, give her a chance to change her mind.

"My bed," Annabel replied.

Callen looked at her for a moment, trying to decide which choice to make. He knew what he wanted.

Annabel smiled. "I wouldn't have given you the choice if I didn't want you with me." She reached out her hand to him. "But it's up to you."

Callen stood up first before taking her hand, conscious of the fact that she was injured. Whilst he knew what Ducky had told him, he wasn't entirely sure how badly she was hurting, but he had witnessed most of the fights she had been in and he certainly wasn't going to add to her pain by letting her pull him up.

"Your room," Callen agreed.

Annabel smiled and turned, leading the way, stopping to get their bags from beside the front door. They stepped through the door into her bedroom and he looked around.

"Don't like?" Annabel asked, when she noticed his look.

"Was kind of expecting frills and girly stuff," Callen replied, looking around at the calmly decorated room. He wasn't entirely sure why though. The colours were soothing and refreshing, light blues in a few different shades, accented with white and just a hint of pink. A simliar feel to the living room, just different colours.

Annabel smiled. "Is that the impression I give off?" she asked. "Girly and frilly?"

"No," he said turning back to her. "Soft and gentle." Annabel raised her eyebrows at that and he added, "as well as tough and extremely protective," as he reconsidered his description of her after everything that had happened in the last week. Soft and gentle didn't quite cover it. There were so many facets to this woman.

"There's a bathroom across the hall and one behind that door," Annabel said, indicating in the appropriate directions.

"I'll use the other one," Callen replied, not wanting to intrude on the personal space he could imagine an ensuite would be.

"Use either. Just letting you know where they are," Annabel replied with a yawn, as she pulled out her pyjamas from under the pile of pillows on her bed. She held them up to her nose and took a breath. Callen raised his eyebrows in curiousity. Annabel smiled.

"My mum," Annabel replied at the look. "If she gets worried about us when we're away, she sneaks over and washes the sheets and anything else that she thinks she can justify. Just so they are fresh when we get back. She uses a particular type of fabric softener. So we know she's been."

Sneak wasn't exactly the right word since to get here, her mother had to drive two hours to the airport, catch a flight to London and then get from the airport to here which took a good hour and a half, unless she went for the forty minute and expensive cab ride. Usually her parents made a weekend of it and caught up with friends as well. She knew her father worried about her and Grey just as much as her mother, so the indulgent trips that he often teased their mother about, were just as much for him as they were for her.

"Any chance I'll get to meet them?" Callen asked, liking the sound of her parents.

"High," she added with a smile, as she stepped into the ensuite and closed the door.

She was in bed by the time Callen came back, her eyes already fighting with her to close and drift off to sleep. He noticed that some of the pillows had moved off the bed but she was nestled on two rather large ones and he chuckled softly.

"What?"

"It's just weird seeing you settled amongst so many pillows," Callen added as he stepped over and joined her under the covers, turning to face her.

"Weakness. Took me ages to find the right kind of ones. After sleeping anywhere I can on the job, it's nice to come home to something special and mine. If they're not comfy for you, there are some others in the spare room. Use what you need."

"These will be fine," Callen assured her. His look turned serious for a moment. Annabel frowned at the look.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Sore. Take too deep a breath and it still hurts. Bruises definitely aren't a pretty sight. And it was a bit difficult getting dressed, but I've had a little practice before. All in all, not too bad."

"If you need help..." Callen offered, though his voice remained neutral, the look in his eyes told Annabel that he was thinking about more than just helping her get dressed.

Annabel leaned carefully over to him and gently kissed him. "I'll keep that in mind for the morning," she said as she pulled back slightly. Callen reached up and pulled her back. He wanted a longer goodnight kiss than that.

Eventually Annabel pulled back and caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Letting out a breath, she smiled.

"Thank you," she said.

"For?"

"Listening about Tom. Telling me about Jennifer," she replied as she settled back on the pillows, her face turned toward him. "Night," she said softly as he turned out the light and she felt the sleep pull her in.


	38. Chapter 38

_A/N - Okay so a little explanation of this chapter. _

_A few weeks or so ago, I hit a wall with writing this story. So I decided to let go of the reigns on the romantic/fluffy stuff and just write something for these two - Callen and Annabel - to see if it would help. It did, thankfully. _

_So, this is my fluff chapter. I've held back for so long with these two and tried to keep the romantic/bonding stuff between the two of them related to the mission and it has been hard, though I am quite proud of the fact that I actually made it this far before "falling off the wagon", so to speak anyway._

_So relax, enjoy and know that no one in here that you meet is bad or has any evil ulterior motives._

_Oh, and it is a pretty long chapter too. Longest one yet, so you might want to get comfy._

_One other thing. I need a little help with a Christmas story I'm writing. If anyone has any suggestions on what Hetty would give Callen, Sam, Kensi, Eric and Nate for a Christmas present, drop me a PM or even just put it in a review. I'm kind of stuck on what she would get them._

_Thanks for all the support on this story._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1. _

_._

**Chapter 38**

Annabel drifted awake, feeling different. She knew she was in her bed but something wasn't quite ... right? No, it felt right. It was just different. Then the heat from the body that she was tucked into registered in her mind. Her head was on a shoulder, not one of her pillows, her fingers resting gently on a bare chest and an arm was around her, keeping her close. She smiled in that still sleepy state she was in and turned her head slightly. She took a slow deep breath and her smile grew. That smell, it wasn't aftershave or anything fake, it was just him. Just him and she felt safe. She debated with herself what to do next, except it wasn't much of a debate since she wasn't fully awake. Which meant, since she was safe, she followed her desires and did what she wanted to do. Moving her head, she placed a kiss on Callen's neck, a soft and lingering one. As she pulled back she felt his arm tighten and hold her closer.

"Morning," Callen said softly.

Annabel lifted her head to look at him and barely had time to register the smile on his before his lips met hers and she sighed in delight. Callen's hand came to cup her face and held her there, whilst his lips teased hers, not quite taking the kiss as far as she wanted him to. She wanted to be closer, wanted more. She wanted him. So she moved, ignoring the twinges from the bruises and her shoulder, pressing closer to him and deepening the kiss. Another sigh escaped as he returned the kiss, as tongues and lips danced together passionately, and his arms tightened carefully around her. Her body softened and moulded into his. Her heart skipped lightly at the possibility of where things were headed.

That was until she heard a sound from her doorway. She broke the kiss off quickly as her head jumped up, her gaze encountering a pair of familiar, curious green eyes that twinkled. At the same time Callen's arm flew to reach for his gun that was on the bedside table, as his eyes went to the door and his body tensed in an entirely different way to the pleasurable tension he had just been experiencing. His hand stopped at Annabel's shocked exclamation.

"Dad!"

Callen quickly studied the man standing in the doorway and realised that he was definitely familiar from his perusal of the family photos Annabel kept around her apartment. Inwardly Callen groaned. This was not quite the way he was hoping to meet the parents, especially her father.

"Morning. Breakfast is ready. I'll get your mother to set another place," Annabel's father said, his voice quite cheery and a smile twitching on his face.

Callen turned his gaze to Annabel, who had a blush on her face and was biting her lip. She looked at Callen and smiled, before looking back to her father.

"Thanks Dad," Annabel said, her tone gentle and happy.

"Looks like you've had a good start to your birthday," her father added, letting the smile free before he turned and walked away.

Annabel fell back against the pillows and groaned. Callen noticed she still had that smile on her face and the groan was perhaps tinged with more laughter than actual groan. He moved to lean over her, looking her in the eyes.

"Birthday?" Callen asked with a curious lift of one eyebrow. "You didn't tell me."

"I kind of forgot what day it was. This last week has been a little weird," Annabel replied softly. He was so close and so tempting.

"Your parents always do this on your birthday?"

"Yep. It's an extension of our childhood tradition. Dad would make Grey's favourite breakfast, Mum would make mine. Dad would wake me, Mum would wake up Grey. They don't do it with Grey anymore because of Olivia - in an attempt to avoid walking in on something like they just about did," Annabel explained, a blush rising on her cheeks again.

"And what did they almost walk in on?" Callen asked. He loved the colour in her cheeks, and the sparkle in her eyes. She was so beautiful.

Annabel felt his gaze make her melt, and the desire and need for him returning fully. It didn't take much, even with the interruption, she was still feeling everything she'd felt before. The heat he had created in her body hadn't cooled much at all. She couldn't find the words so showed him instead. She reached up and caught his mouth with hers in a sizzling kiss that had them both temporarily forgetting that her parents were in the other room waiting for them. Callen pulled back first.

"Happy Birthday," he said in an attempt to get their thoughts on something else.

"Definitely is so far," Annabel answered as she moved closer again. Callen pulled further back. She raised her eyebrows, laughter in her eyes.

Callen shook his head and smiled. "Not exactly the first meeting I was hoping for with your father, so how about we don't keep him waiting?" he suggested as he moved away from her reach.

Annabel started to laugh softly. "Meeting my dad was never going to be easy. You think Grey is protective of me, Dad's even more so."

"Any tips?" Callen asked, nerves settling on him. Something he hadn't had with Jennifer. Her father had died when she was seventeen so he'd never had to go through that.

"Dad was a lawyer, still does the odd job and still has that mind. Don't lie."

Callen raised his eyebrows at that, considering it was essentially what they did for a living. He moved off the bed and reached for his pants.

Annabel smiled, not only at the look but the view. "Don't lie about me, or whatever is happening between us. He'll know and he won't like it. Dad's protective Callen, but not unreasonable." Annabel assured him as she got up out of bed. She stretched her neck and shoulder a little as she moved over to him and slipped her arms around him before he could get his shirt on. Callen's arms went around her too.

"So what is happening?" Callen asked, not quite sure how to answer that question himself.

Annabel looked up at him, a mix of mischief and seriousness in her expression. "We're seeing what happens. It's been an odd start and we're just trying to ... ," the mischief heightened in her eyes and tone, "feel our way through the madness and see where it goes." She moved her hands around to his chest and ran them lightly up until they found their way around his neck as she spoke that last part.

"Feel our way huh?" Callen repeated as he pushed her back gently against the wall, his heated gaze holding hers.

"Feel," Annabel whispered, which he did. His hands moving slowly and gently up her sides as he watched the heat flood into her eyes. Lowering his head just as slowly as his hands were rising, he stopped just an inch away from her lips, his hands stopping too. Annabel let out a small whimper and Callen smiled. The look in her eyes, the deep green of them, the flush to her cheeks, the softness of her skin. She was so tempting and he knew exactly where this would go, if there weren't two other people in the apartment.

"Your parents are waiting. We'll have to continue this later," he said eventually.

"Promise?" Annabel asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"As long as your parents aren't staying here tonight," Callen promised both of them.

"They won't be. They're staying with Olivia and Grey to organise the party."

Callen tilted his head slightly, a questioning look on his face. "Party?"

Annabel closed her eyes briefly and groaned. Why did he have to affect her like this? Usually she looked forward to the party, but right now she was really wishing that it was a different day entirely. Birthday party tonight. You'll come won't you?" she asked tentatively, hoping that even if she couldn't have him to herself she could at least share this special time with him.

"You want me to?" Callen asked.

"Very much," Annabel replied.

Callen kissed her lightly on the lips. "I'll come."

With that, Callen pulled away and finished getting dressed whilst reciting the alphabet silently, in one of the languages he didn't know as well as the others, in an attempt to get his mind off later. Annabel's parents were waiting and he hoped that it wouldn't be too obvious when he walked out of the room, what had almost happened. He turned back to Annabel who was slipping on a robe over her pyjamas.

"Not getting dressed?" Callen asked as he held out her sling. Annabel frowned at it and shook her head.

"Ducky said two weeks, unless you were in bed." That wasn't quite the best thing for him to say, bringing ideas into both their heads that they had been trying not to think about.

Reluctantly, Annabel moved closer to him and Callen helped her put it on. She hated wearing the sling even though it did help take the pressure off and ease the pain that was in her shoulder. She was surprised at how quickly the pain was settling down in it. Perhaps Ducky had been right and it was just bruising and swelling.

Annabel smiled as she held out a hand to him. Callen took it and they walked out together. Time to meet the parents, properly this time

Annabel rolled her eyes at the look her father gave her when they finally came out of the bedroom. She let go of Callen's hand and moved into her father's arms.

"Didn't mean to interrupt anything," her father said in her ear.

"I love you, Dad. Missed you," Annabel whispered as she breathed in her father's scent. This time it was a mix of his aftershave and her mother's favourite fabric softener. It smelt like home. Annabel pulled back and smiled.

"I'm Penelope Mason," Annabel's mother introduced herself to Callen.

"G Callen."

Penelope raised her eyebrows slightly in question at his name. Callen recognised the look as one of simple curiosity. There were no judgments or assumptions behind it.

"Still trying to figure out what it stands for," he replied easily and honestly, remembering what Annabel had said about her dad. He figured spending a lifetime with someone you'd pick up a few hints and he wasn't taking any chances. There were enough obstacles and miscommunications between the two of them, he wasn't going to add to it.

"What would you prefer we call you?" Penelope asked with a gentle smile. There was concern in her eyes, like she could tell that there was a lot more to it than he had said and that it wasn't the easiest subject for him. He wondered if he had just found out where Annabel got her intuition from.

"Callen's fine," he replied. He still wasn't entirely sure about the whole 'G was what his mother had meant him to have' deal. It still didn't feel like a name, even if it was what Sam had always called him. He was used to people calling him Callen.

"All right then Callen please, take a seat. Breakfast is ready," Penelope said as she stepped around him carrying a large plate of crepes to the table that was already set for four, including juice, fruit, cream and numerous other potential toppings. It made him curious as to just how long they had been in Annabel's apartment before they'd woken up. Which then led him to thinking about how, once again, he'd actually slept, not just napped.

Penelope turned to Annabel once she placed the plate down, a frown coming across her face at the sling. "Darling, what happened?" she asked, her eyes going from her shoulder to her head.

Annabel stepped closer to her mother and gave her a hug. "Just work. I'm going to be fine. Sore for a couple of weeks." She felt the emotions surface that had come up again with the week they'd just had, fought back the tears and the slight wince when her mother gave her a gentle squeeze that hurt a little. She didn't want to talk about it with them, not today. And she certainly didn't want her mother to know the extent of the injuries. Penelope Mason worried enough about her and Grey as it was.

"Annabel," her father said, gaining her attention.

"Yeah." Annabel turned around, her eyes still glistening slightly. Her father noticed. Of course he would and she knew that the words that came out of his mouth next, were nothing like the ones he had originally intended on saying.

"Has this young man met your brother?"

Annabel was slightly confused.

"Yes," she replied.

"The bruise on his head. Is that from Grey?"

"No!" Annabel exclaimed.

Callen held back a laugh at the shocked look on her face.

"Good." Her father turned toward him and held out his hand which Callen took. "Nicholas Mason. I will assume, for now, that since both Annabel and Grey obviously approve of you, that you are worthy of the position I first found you in with my daughter."

"Dad!" Annabel groaned, the blush coming quickly over her face.

Nicholas smiled at his daughter. He hadn't seen that sparkle in her eyes for many years and was most pleased to see it again. For that reason alone, Callen's first meeting with her parents was much easier than any previous potential partner had ever had.

"Annabel, sit and eat your breakfast. I'm sure you are hungry," Nicholas said. That twinkle in his eye suggesting that they had, perhaps, just worked up an appetite.

Annabel's hand went to her face in a futile attempt to hide the increase in colour, as she grumbled good-naturedly, "I so know where Grey gets his annoying qualities from."

Nicholas chuckled; that deep, low and happy chuckle that meant he had always been the pick for Santa at his work Christmas parties. "How do you know I didn't get it from him?"

.

Forty five minutes and several interesting stories about Annabel as a child later, her parents left. It was easy to see the closeness of them, to understand the concern in their eyes, the love. Knowing some of the things Annabel had been through and how she depended on them, Callen found it very easy to like them.

Closing the door after them, Annabel leaned back against it and sighed softly. Callen moved over to her, hands resting on either side of her, his body close but not touching.

"Anything wrong?" he asked.

Annabel shook her head, "No. Except that we have ten minutes before we have to leave. Not quite what I meant to have planned for my birthday."

"What were your plans?" Callen asked brushing a light kiss on the side of her neck distracting her slightly as her head tilted to the side giving him access to more of the delicate skin.

"Umm, usually I take the day off, wing it from there." Her eyes drifted closed at his touch, her voice softening as she spoke the words

"You can still have the day off," Callen replied, kissing the other side of her neck.

Annabel groaned and gave him a gentle shove with her good arm. Callen grinned at her and she rolled her eyes.

"No. We have things to do, remember. Things to find out," she reminded him softly, with a gentle smile. She moved toward the bedroom to get ready. Callen followed. Annabel turned around and looked at him when she got to the doorway of her bedroom.

"You're not coming in," she said firmly. "You're mostly dressed. You can come in when I'm done, otherwise, you will be the one explaining to Grey why we are hours late," Annabel went to close the door as she finished.

"Hours?" Callen asked curiously.

"Hours," Annabel repeated with a grin and closed the door. He heard the lock click into place and smiled, wondering which one of them she didn't she trust?

.

They managed to arrive at the office on time. After sorting out security passes and clearances, Graham took them to one of the many conference rooms.

"We've brought in every hard copy of the files of the missions and reports that Mitch has been involved in for the last six years. Plus anything that was in his office. There are some files that have been held back, highly classified ones, but in cases like that a brief summary has been left in its place and the files are with me. I will go over them completely and, if I see anything, then I will allow you to see those as well. We've also brought in what Sasha had at her desk. Unfortunately that is all we have at present in relation to Sasha. She was a ghost. The address and details we have for her are dead ends. The apartment is someone else's who doesn't know who she is. We're still trying to find something on her."

Graham handed Callen a file.

"This is everything I have on The Twelve and your parents. There's not much more than what I told you yesterday. This file does not leave this floor. When you are done with it, or at the end of the day, return it to me. Don't leave this room unattended unless it is locked."

Graham turned to Eric.

"Those computers at the end are for you, Eric. They are Mitch's. Everything he has done in the last six years will be on the hard drives in them. I've had Cara sort out access on the laptop for you to use to access our systems and interface with Mitch's computers. She's available if you need help."

"Who's Cara?" Eric asked.

Annabel smiled.

"Our equivalent of you, Eric. She's very good. A bit shy to start with though, so go slow."

Eric blushed and they all laughed at his reaction.

"Eric, she's young. She's only twenty, but she's brilliant. She works with us and two other teams," Annabel explained. "Cara's had a lot of people doubt her abilities. Graham brought her into our department about eight months ago, when he found out she was being bullied in the team she was with."

"Who were promptly split up, disciplined and demoted," Graham said with a slight growl to his voice. Callen raised his eyebrows at that.

"There's one thing Graham doesn't stand for, aside from disloyalty, is bullying." Annabel smiled at her boss then continued. "He's witnessed it too many times without the ability to do anything about it. That changed when he took over." There hadn't been a lot but the rules hadn't been strict enough to cover the very subtle kind that was hard to prove. The kind that Cara had faced. Graham had made that his priority when he'd first moved into the role. "Cara's here because she deserves to be, yet they wouldn't give her a chance. She's slowly coming out of her shell and trusting us. But, most importantly, she's never let us down."

"You still trust her? After Sasha?" Callen asked gently. He wasn't trying to make her doubt anyone, but given everything, he needed to ask, for his own peace of mind.

"Yes." The looked on Annabel's face reinforced her answer. "Because it wasn't Mitch who brought her in. It was Graham. I trust him and I trust her."

"Good luck," Graham said before he stepped out of the room and closed the door.

Hetty looked them all over before she spoke. "I'll be organising your respective wardrobes this morning. I'll be back soon to help should you require my assistance."

"So, where do we start?" Sam asked, glancing around at all of the boxes.

"I'm starting down there," Eric said, pointing his way to the computers that were at the end of the long table. "Have fun, don't get too many paper cuts!"

Eric narrowly avoided a playful punch from Kensi as he walked past.

Callen, Sam and Kensi, looked at Grey and Annabel.

"You know these files better than anyone," Callen said. "Any recommendations?"

Annabel looked at Grey. "I'd say go through, sort into different piles quickly, then go through again in detail, starting with those that are the most suspicious."

"That's going over things twice though," Kensi said.

Annabel nodded. "True. But right now everything is filed meticulously, classification followed by date order. We tend to find it makes it easier to focus if they are similar piles, rather than going through everything as it stands where one thing might be of no importance but the next is. Kind of keeps us in the right frame of mind"

Kensi could understand that. They'd never had to go through paperwork of this magnitude before but she did know what it was like to get into a file and move on to the next one only to have her focus blown because there were four or five of barely anything. "Pile options?" Kensi asked.

"One for the mission files, one for those that involved Annabel - considering you were the one he was here for," Grey suggested with an apologetic smile to Annabel. "Any that went bad, any highly suspicious, those in the top levels of classification and then anything left over. Everything that isn't a file, sort into personal and professional. That should keep us busy for a while," Grey suggested.

Annabel took Callen and Sam to one side of the table and showed them where to find the appropriate details on the files to make it quicker, Grey and Kensi worked together on the other side.

After about an hour, Eric was making funny noises and distracting everyone.

"What's up, Eric? You're destroying the mood," Sam asked as he spun in his chair to look at Eric.

Eric looked up and shrugged. "Sorry, just a little frustrating. Still working on finding my way around and getting to know the lingo."

"Want some help?" Annabel asked.

"Yeah," Eric reluctantly admitted.

Annabel left Callen and Sam and joined Eric.

Half an hour later there was a tentative knock on the door. Grey stood up and answered it.

"Cara! Hi."

"Hi," came the tentative reply that matched the knock. "Heard you were back."

Grey ushered her in the room. Cara took two steps forward and one larger one back once she saw everyone. Grey put his hand on her back and gently urged her forward before closing the door and introducing her to everyone.

Callen could see how nervous she was. She definitely looked younger than twenty as well. Annabel stood up and made her way to Cara. Callen watched the interaction with interest. He had yet to see Annabel with someone shy and reserved.

"Hi," Annabel said softly.

"Are you okay?" Cara asked. Callen saw the nervousness slip from Cara's expression as she looked Annabel over, concern and worry taking over. He could tell that Cara definitely cared about Annabel.

"I'm fine. Nothing that won't heal," Annabel reassured her. "They're all good people, Cara. Eric could use your help actually, if you have the time. He's not quite sure what he's doing." Annabel glanced at Eric and winked.

Eric got the message and nodded, looking slightly helpless. Which wasn't far from the truth. He was getting there, Annabel had helped but things would definitely go a lot quicker with someone who knew exactly where to look and how things worked.

Cara nodded slightly and moved toward Eric. Stopping after a couple of steps and turning back to Annabel and Grey. She gave them both a nervous hug, and wished them a Happy Birthday. "Sorry I can't be there tonight, but..."

"Next year, no excuses," Grey said with an encouraging smile. He was rewarded with a bigger smile and a little nod. Cara then turned away and walked, with a little more spring in her step, to join Eric.

"Nicely done," Annabel whispered. "But not too much charm okay? Don't want her falling for you."

"Don't think we have to worry about that," Grey said with a nod toward Cara and Eric.

There was a brightness and animation to Cara's face that they hadn't seen much of. They'd caught glimpses here and there, but this seemed like it was fully out.

"Well, so she just needed a surfer tech guy to bring her out of her shell. Who would've thought? Think we might be able to convince her to come tonight after all?"

"Maybe, what about the rest of this crazy bunch?" Grey tilted his head in their direction. "Want to invite them?"

"Already invited Callen. Wouldn't mind having the rest there."

"Better take care of that soon."

"Hey, you two," Callen called out. "You gonna help or chat all day? We're down a set of eyes on this side."

Annabel smiled and, after inviting them all to the party and having them agree, they went back to work. When Hetty arrived after her shopping expedition, they invited her too.

The invitation, now having been extended to the entire team, Hetty had taken some more time to organise their attire. It was formal, at least in dress. They didn't get a chance to dress up for themselves often, so this was a treat. Somehow, Hetty managed to do in it a simple lunch hour, leaving them all shaking their heads in amazement that on the other side of the world, she still seemed to be able to pull off miracles.

They'd managed to sort all the files by the end of the day, but they hadn't gotten around to specifically searching the individual files. There was just so much and once they finished with the office, there was Mitch's apartment and holiday flat to do as well. They were all exhausted by the end of the day, but were hoping that tomorrow would bring to light some actual results. Eric and Cara has set some little programs running searches on the computers, but they hadn't come up with anything yet. From their point of view, it was looking like Mitch might have hidden his extra curricular activities well.

So, when it was time to go and get ready for the party, everyone, including Cara who they had managed to convince to join them, perked up.

.

When Annabel stepped out of the bedroom once she was ready later that night, Callen's jaw dropped, heart rate and temperature shooting up. She looked amazing. Her hair was left loose, her make up barely there, just enough to brighten her still tired features and cover the bruise that was still visible. Her dress was fitted at the top, showing off a small, yet tempting amount of the curves that were underneath and flared out to just above the knees in a deep mauve colour that had tiny golden flowers scattered lightly over the skirt. Then there was the matching strappy, high heeled sandals which were doing wonderful things for the expanse of leg between them and the bottom of the dress. Callen stood up as she walked in.

"Wow."

Annabel smiled at the response and stepped over to him. She turned around and asked, "Can you do me up please?"

"Up?" Callen asked, still not quite able to find his voice, especially with the glimpse of soft skin and lace he was faced with when she had turned around.

"Yes," Annabel said, laughter obvious in her tone. "Not down. Not yet anyway."

Callen complied and zipped up the dress and then she turned around. He pulled her into his arms and shook his head at her.

"You are going to make this a very difficult night on me aren't you?"

"Why would you think that?" Annabel asked innocently. She had legitimately needed his help with the zip, with her shoulder there was no way she could do it up herself, though she did admit to herself even if she could have, she would have asked him anyway.

"Who chose the dress?"

"I did," Annabel admitted. She loved this dress and didn't get a chance to were it often. Her mother had given it to her for Christmas last year and had hand stitched the delicate golden flowers on it for her.

"Yeah, that would be why." Callen ran his finger gently over the neckline of the dress as he spoke. He smiled as her breath quickened and her mouth fell open slightly. He ran his finger up her neck, over her pulse. Watched as a delicate blush followed his finger.

Annabel took a steadying breath and smiled. "You're not exactly making it easy on me either," she replied as she stepped back and looked him over. It was the first time she'd seen him dressed in a suit. She had to admire Hetty's abilities in knowing what looked good on him. "You are looking very appealing."

"Perhaps we'd better get out of here before we find other interests for tonight," Callen suggested, as he reached for the sling she had left on the table to help her into it.

"Just need Sam, Kensi and Eric, then-" Annabel stopped at the knock on the door. "Guess we can go after all."

The drive was quick and easy from Annabel's apartment to Grey's.

Sam gave a low whistle at a bike that was parked just outside. "Nice," he said. "Is that Grey's."

Annabel shook her head. "No. Grey doesn't have a bike. Must be another tenants."

They followed her up the front steps to the entrance and she rang the buzzer.

"Come on up, Birthday Girl," came Grey's voice as the door unlocked.

"How does he..." Callen started to ask. "Don't worry." He would just assume that Grey pretty much knew where Annabel was at any point in time, and hope that the connection wasn't too detailed.

Annabel chuckled. "He knows because he can see us." She pointed to a small camera.

They went up the stairs and into a rather spacious apartment. Hetty, Graham and Cara were already there, as were Annabel's parents, Grey and Olivia. The table was set for thirteen, which meant there was still one person unaccounted for.

Grey stepped over to Annabel and pulled her into a hug. "You look gorgeous."

"Thanks, so do you," Annabel replied, kissing him on the cheek. "Think Olivia will behave herself tonight with you looking like that?"

"About as much chance as Callen behaving himself with you,"

"So, none then," Callen answered, bring a blush to Annabel's cheeks and a chuckle from Sam.

Grey looked at Callen and grinned. "That would be about right."

Grey led them over to the rest of the party and after introductions were made and drinks sorted, Annabel looked over at Olivia.

"Liv, are Shawn and Diana coming?" Annabel asked. She wasn't sure if Diana would be up for it, but they had been expecting Shawn.

Olivia smiled. "No. Diana went into labour a couple of hours ago."

Annabel's eyes lit up. "So the new addition to the family is almost here."

Nicholas chuckled. "Let's hope he or she doesn't take as long as you two did," he said glancing between Annabel and Grey. "Thirty six hours for these two to decide which one was going to grace us with their presence first."

"So who's missing?" Annabel asked, turning back to Olivia

"No one," Olivia replied.

"Table's set for thirteen. Only twelve here."

Callen heard footsteps behind them and both he and Annabel turned at the sound.

"Thirteen actually," came a deep, yet lighthearted voice as they did.

Callen heard Annabel's shocked intake of breath and felt her hand leave his as she almost flew to the tall, dark haired man who was now standing, leaning against the archway that led to the bedrooms. He had a big smile on his face and seemed to be waiting. He seemed familiar to Callen, though he wasn't sure where from.

"What happened to you?" the man asked Annabel as she got close and gave him a one-armed hug. The man smiled and wrapped his arms gently around her and kissed the top of her head. Jealousy made an attempt to flare in Callen's stomach but he stopped it. Given everything with Grey, he wasn't about to go down that path again and he was pretty sure there would be a reasonable explanation for who he was.

"Work," Annabel replied. "What are you doing here?" she asked as she looked up at his face, one that felt like she hadn't seen in ages.

"Not work," he corrected her seriously, as he brushed a finger softly near her eyes. "The sparkle's back. Gonna introduce me to the one responsible?" The man glanced around and his eyes settled on Callen, giving him more than a once over.

Annabel smiled and stepped back, taking his hand and walking them back to Callen.

"Callen, this is Marcus Evans," Annabel introduced the two of them.

Marcus? Callen's brain worked quickly, zoning in on the name from the night before. The best friend. The one who had been in the photos.

Marcus held out his hand to Callen who accepted it.

"Nice to meet the one who has made her happy again."

Annabel rolled her eyes and stepped closer to Callen, turning back to face Marcus.

After a quick introduction to the rest of the party, Annabel asked her question of Marcus again.

"You are supposed to be in Hawaii or something. What are you doing here?"

"It's your birthday. Where else would I be? Missing one's enough."

"Okay, now we're all here, let's eat," Nicholas' cheery voice directed them to the table.

The conversation flowed smoothly, as did the wine, except for Graham, Callen and Annabel. Callen and Graham were both driving and Annabel only had one glass. Plus, she didn't want to fall asleep in the car on the way home. Alcohol had a tendancy to make her sleepy. And she knew there was more to tonight than just this party.

They moved away from the table after they had finished eating and got comfortable on the variety of chairs in the living area, continuing the easy conversation. Cara had even joined in a little, though mostly she'd been quiet or just talking to Eric, but both Grey and Annabel were pleased with the way she seemed happy to be there with them.

When the stories turned to childhood ones, Annabel groaned. Callen looked at her curiously and she explained.

"In this room are the four people who know, pretty much everything about me. One in particular," she glared at Marcus, "who has a habit of telling secrets at these events designed to embarrass me."

"Who me?" Marcus asked innocently. "Well, there was this one time..." Annabel held up a set of keys at his words.

"Oh really, Miss Annabel," Marcus replied a grin playing on his lips. "You think swiping my keys will stop the tradition?" Marcus shook his head at her. "Bike or no bike, not a chance, honey."

Callen noticed Sam's eyes light up now he had found the owner of the bike, and was sure somewhere along the line, the conversation would go in that direction. He'd also noticed the light flirting that was going on between Annabel and Marcus. He wasn't worried about it but it did make him curious as to their relationship. There was the gentle touches, the endearments and teasing, and the smiles that went back and forth between them. Though Callen had noticed that Marcus seemed to have a fairly happy smile on his face when he spotted something going on between himself and Annabel, like he was pleased about it. Which his actions and words definitely seemed to match up with.

Marcus turned back so his gaze could encompass the whole crowd and started his story.

"Now which one do I chose this year," he mused. "Ah ha!" Marcus rubbed his hands together in glee. "This is one even the parents don't know yet." Marcus grinned at Annabel. "Tom and Annabel had been together for about a year, final year at school and our Phys Ed teacher decided we all needed to know CPR."

Annabel threw at pillow at him. "You know that was completely innocent," she protested, knowing exactly which story he was about to tell.

"Who's Tom?" Sam asked. There was a momentary silence before Annabel answered, Callen slipping his arm around her as she did.

"He and I dated in high school. We eventually got married, but he died when we were twenty two."

"Sorry," Sam said sincerely.

"It's okay Sam, it was a long time ago." Annabel added with a smile to reassure him.

"Anyway," Marcus continued. "They were practicing at Tom's house, in his room, bedroom mind you, not just any room."

The suggestive lift to Marcus' eyebrows had Annabel groaning again. She had to give Marcus this; he knew how to spin a story.

Callen chuckled at it. Annabel turned and glared at him but he took advantage of her closeness and kissed her.

Marcus cleared his throat to get them to stop. Whilst he tried to look stern and reproachful at the interruption to his story, he smiled at them both and Callen had a feeling he'd just been given a seal of approval, which made three. So far, so good.

"I happened to come over a little earlier than planned and walked in to find them on the floor, Annabel's shirt off and Tom lying on top of her."

"It wasn't like that," Annabel protested.

"So you say, but that is most definitely what I saw," Marcus finished, sitting back in his chair, a smile on his face as he waited for the fallout of his story. Annabel shook her head at him trying to glare sternly, but it was hard for her to be mad at Marcus. It always had been.

"Annabel Jane," Nicholas said seriously, whilst trying not to laugh at the look on his daughter's face. "You never told me about that."

Annabel turned her gaze from Marcus to her father. "For good reason, Dad. One, it was innocent. Two, if I had of, you would have had some forty page document drawn up in two seconds flat that would have had Tom kept three feet away from me at all times."

"Six, actually," Nicholas replied with a chuckle.

"Bel. Your chance is fading if you want to explain yourself. Otherwise I've got one to add."

"Fine. Yes, we were in his bedroom. Yes, we were practicing CPR. And yes, my shirt was off," Annabel started.

"What did I tell you," Marcus interrupted.

Annabel looked at him and he closed his mouth, smiled and waved her on.

Sam and Kensi chuckled at the look. In a way it reminded them of one of Hetty's. At least in the effect it had on Marcus.

"Tom was a gentleman. His watch had got caught on my shirt, we were having trouble getting it untangled, so I took the shirt off-"

"_You_ took your shirt off?" Callen asked, trying to look serious but the grin was playing on his lips gave him away. Annabel saw it and rolled her eyes at him, which only succeeded in bring the smile out fully.

"Yes, after he had taken his watch off his wrist. He was going to try and get it off... the watch," Annabel said firmly, at Marcus' chuckle, "He was trying to get the watch untangled without harming the shirt. It was my favourite shirt at the time. Anyway, Marcus walked in and, being the gentleman Tom was, he pushed me back on the floor and covered me so that Marcus didn't see anything."

"As if," Marcus retorted. "Come on, there are enough guys in this room, let's vote. You are in a room alone with your girlfriend, who you find incredibly attractive and somehow, she no longer has a shirt on. Hands up if your mind is not on getting the watch untangled from the shirt but on what she looks like and what your chances are of getting closer to her."

When every man in the room's hands went up, Annabel just stared at her father who smiled at her.

"Darling, I've been with your mother since we were fifteen. We were married at seventeen. You do know that we are rather... affectionate and always have been," Nicholas said. There was a chuckle that went right around the room.

Annabel found herself looking at Callen, eyebrows raised.

"So who were you with in a room when you were seventeen?" she asked, attempting to deflect the line of discussion away from her.

"Who said anything about seventeen? I've seen you without a shirt. I know what I was thinking then."

Sam choked back a shocked laugh at Callen's comment. Callen grinned at him and then looked back to Annabel whose blush deepened, but so did the heat and desire in her eyes and Callen wondered just how long they would need to stay before he could take her home. Not that he wasn't enjoying the company. He found himself quite relaxed, hence his comment even though the room was filled with people who would probably shoot him on sight if he hurt Annabel in anyway.

Annabel turned back to the group. "He didn't think anything-" she started to protest.

"Sorry Annabel, I have to disagree," Marcus stopped her before she could continue defending Tom. "I know for a fact that Tom was definitely not entirely thinking gentlemanly thoughts, even if his actions were," Marcus said.

"How?" Annabel asked, the question slipping out before she could think about whether she really wanted to know the answer.

"He told me," Marcus replied. "Seriously Annabel, I know Tom was a gentleman, but man he was, and attracted to you he definitely was. The question I now have is … what were-" Another pillow cut Marcus off.

"Grey you were saying?" Annabel prompted, knowing that she would rather have Grey come up with another story than answer the question Marcus was about to ask.

Marcus and Grey both chuckled.

The stories continued about both Annabel and Grey, with hints of Marcus and Tom in most of them. Callen asked once about why Grey was the only one who called her Bel. He was curious about that.

"Grey just always did. Marcus did for a couple of weeks when we were seven," Annabel answered.

"Until she tried to bury me in the school sandpit," Marcus added.

"Why'd you try and bury him?" Callen asked.

"Because he kept saying it in a high pitched, bell tone, and it was driving me insane," Annabel replied.

Marcus chuckled. "What are you talking about? You always were insane. That's why you can put up with me. If it hadn't literally been for the bell, the school bell, she'd have probably been successful. It was the first time I found out just how strong my little friend really was."

"What about Tom?" Callen asked gently.

"No, he never did," Annabel answered, a blush coming over her cheeks that intrigued Callen.

Marcus saw it and laughed. "He liked her reaction when he said her name. Especially when - " Pillow number three flew across the room. Marcus caught it easily and turned to Callen.

"In case you haven't noticed Callen, she has a wicked talent for throwing pillows. Of all different shapes and sizes. I would highly recommend not getting into a fight with her when there are any around."

Callen took that note seriously, especially considering her collection of pillows in her bedroom.

"Well, it's easier to throw a pillow when you only have one arm working. Otherwise..." Annabel trailed off, leaving the suggestion that she would be more than willing to go after him physically.

"Anyway, what was I saying?" Marcus mused, heading back to the pre-pillow number three conversation.

"Nothing," Annabel cut in. "I was about to tell on you and Grey and the girls locker room."

"Nothing to tell, Bel." Grey looked at her and shook his head firmly.

"You'll get to defend your actions. I get to tell the story," Annabel grinned. Not that it was going to be a long one, but it would be enough to move the conversation from her.

"We were fifteen and I caught Marcus and Grey hiding in the girls locker room. They'd ditched a class and were waiting in there when we all came back from a rather physical class and in need of a shower."

"Grey William Mason! I thought we brought you up better than that," Penelope exclaimed, teasing her son.

"You did Mum," Grey replied. "I was trying to get Marcus out of there and I got caught myself."

"Keep telling yourself that Grey, and one day you'll believe it," Marcus added knowingly, with a wink at Kensi who had found herself laughing at the look on Grey's face. She hadn't realised it was possible to embarrass Grey. He'd been so cool, calm and almost unflappable since she'd met him.

"If it wasn't for that connection you two have," Marcus said glancing between Annabel and Grey, "she'd have never known we were there."

Annabel relaxed back in Callen's arms now she had effectively diverted the attention away from herself. Callen ran his fingers gently over her shoulder and she turned her head to look at him, smiling softly as she looked in his eyes. Callen was tempted to close the distance and kiss her but she turned her head back to the conversation, resting it on his shoulder. His other hand moved to cover her hand that was on his leg, as they listened to the conversation around them.

After more stories, cake and presents, the night finally came to a close. Graham and Hetty left first, with a much changed Cara. It seemed like tonight she had finally come out of her shell and joined the family. Her hugs to Annabel and Grey before she left were warm and friendly. Her smiles at the others showing no sign of her earlier nerves.

"Should have dragged her to one of these sooner," Grey murmured to Annabel as they watched the three of them walk down the stairs.

"We should give Eric a medal. I think it had a lot to do with him," Annabel said softly. She hoped the change would be permanent.

Annabel wanted to help clean up, even if it was only one-handed, but her parents were firm that neither she nor Grey were going to help and sent the rest of them on their way.

As Callen had expected, the conversation had eventually turned to the bike downstairs and Marcus walked them out to show it to Sam and a very interested Kensi. When they got downstairs, Marcus pulled Annabel close.

"You gonna give me those keys, or do I have to get your new man to find them for me?" he asked.

"Not gonna try and find them yourself?" Annabel teased.

"Honey, I've seen the way he looks at you. I'm not stupid and certainly couldn't beat him in a fight. Either physical or for your heart," Marcus said the last sentence softly so only she heard it.

Annabel smiled and reached up to kiss him on the cheek.

"Thanks for coming back," she said as she slipped him the keys.

Marcus looked over at Sam and tossed them to him. "Remember Sam. Don't go driving it anywhere." Marcus looked back down at Annabel and moved them away slightly. Callen noticed and stepped closer to the bike to give them some privacy, joining Kensi and Eric, whilst Sam sat on the bike and started it, looking like he was almost in heaven at the purring sound it gave.

"You okay?" Marcus asked seriously, running a hand gently over her shoulder. Annabel smiled. Marcus knew what she did, not the details exactly but the kind of things her job entailed.

"I'm okay. I've had worse," Annabel assured him.

"I know. I remember." Marcus had always been there as well for her when he could. She always knew that, no matter where in the world his job took him. She could always count on him. He was like another brother, almost as close as Grey.

"Nothing like that. This will be done in a couple of weeks. Bit of rehab on the shoulder after that."

"Not just meaning the physical. Grey told me about Mitch and Zoe," Marcus added, pulling her closer as he did. She rested her head against his chest easily. Marcus was a good head taller than her and she slipped in comfortably under his chin, as she replied.

"I'm okay, really. It's not easy but..." Annabel trailed off as her eyes found their way to Callen, who was looking over at her. She smiled at him before pulling back and looking up into her friend's eyes.

Marcus answered before she did.

"But you have someone to help."

"Working on it. Seeing where it goes," Annabel agreed.

Marcus chuckled and shook his head. "You know exactly where it is going, especially tonight. Now take him home and enjoy the rest of your birthday."

Annabel gave him one last hug and another kiss. "I really need to find you a good girl," she said. "Settle you down. You're wasted out there on your own."

"You aren't available and you don't have a sister. There's no one else I'd be interested in," Marcus teased. "Actually..."

"There is someone?" Annabel asked curiously.

"There might be. I'll let you know how it goes."

"You better. Then I get my chance to tell secrets about you," Annabel teased.

"I'm an open book, sweetheart. You know you can't embarrass me."

"Oh, but the fun of trying," Annabel replied as they stepped toward the bike. She slipped easily under Callen's arm as Sam got off the bike and handed the keys back to Marcus.

"Think Hetty would spring for one of these?" Sam asked Callen.

"Nope," Callen said simply, dashing Sam's hopes with one simple word. Unless it was absolutely essential for a mission there was no way that Hetty would be convinced to let them out on the loose on one of those. He'd tried before. Hetty had a dislike of motorbikes, but as yet, he didn't know the reason behind it.

"Night you lot. Be good." Marcus reached his hand out to shake hands with Sam and Eric, quickly kissed Kensi on the cheek and finally shook Callen's hand. "You're a lucky man, Callen. Stay that way. Don't hurt her."

"Goodnight Marcus," Annabel said firmly, before he could do anything to scare Callen off.

.

Callen closed the door behind them and pulled her close. Annabel reached her free hand up and pulled his head down, her lips brushing his gently.

"So, Marcus seems to know a lot about you," Callen asked. Whilst there had been a lot of stories about them, he hadn't had a full definition of their relationship and he was still curious about it.

"You want to talk about Marcus?" Annabel asked as her lips brushed over his neck and her fingers moved to slide between the buttons of his shirt and worked on undoing them one handed.

"Just curious about him and why he was basically giving me a warning similar to Grey," Callen answered as he pulled of his jacket and moved them away from the door toward the bedroom. He threw his jacket on the couch as they passed and then his fingers went to the sling on her arm.

Annabel stopped them and stepped away.

"Okay, I will tell you a bit more about Marcus, very quickly and then after that, this night is just about you and me. Deal?"

"Deal," Callen replied.

"Marcus and I have known each other since we were five and a half. It was Grey, Marcus, myself and this girl called Debbie. Until we hit high school then Debbie went off and joined the popular group. There was a few more in the group but the three of us had known each other for so long we kind of felt like we were a group within a group; the others came and went but we stayed the same. Then Tom came and joined, once Grey and Marcus stopped interfering. Because yes, Marcus was another set of eyes for Grey for wherever Tom was in those six weeks, though I didn't know it at the time. Marcus is a business consultant, travels the world and is home for maybe six weeks out of a year. Varies where he stays in those six weeks, sometimes with me, with Grey, his parents or ours. I know I can always call him, wherever he is and he will do for me what he can. He's a lot like Tom in that they have the same ideals, same priorities on how they treat someone. Personality wise, he is very different. I love him like another brother."

"What about him? Does he think of you like a sister?"  
"Yes. The flirting is just fun. He knows there is nothing there from either of us for something like that. Now," Annabel said as she stepped closer, "that is all you need to know about Marcus."

"I'm sure-"

Annabel cut his words off with her own mouth and he happily obliged, carefully leading her to the bedroom, removing the sling and slowly unzipping the dress as her fingers kept working on his shirt.

"One more thing," Callen said, mischief mixing with desire.

"What?" Annabel asked impatiently as she ran her lips lightly over his neck and up to his ear.

"What was so special about the way Tom said your name?" he asked as his fingers ran lightly over her exposed back. He wasn't jealous of Tom so he had no problem asking her the question. He also wouldn't have a problem with her answer, whatever that was.

There was that blush again. "Nothing really, it just … made me shiver or tingle or something," she admitted. It wasn't entirely the truth, but she really didn't want to say that there were some ways that he said it that turned her on.

"Really?" Callen had an idea. He moved his mouth close to her ear and whispered her name, slowly. His arms slipped around her as he did and he felt her almost collapse and moan at the same time.

Callen pulled his head back and looked at her. Her eyes were a deeper shade of green than he had ever seen them. "Something like that?"

Annabel found her voice and her legs.

"Nothing like that. Never that intense," she said breathless. The heat that had settled low in her stomach, the way her entire body just went up in flames as he had whispered it, slowly, low and filled with so much passion. She was shocked that he could do that simply with her name.

Callen's fingers went back to the straps on her dress.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Very sure," Annabel answered. So he pushed the straps down gently and the dress fell to floor at her feet. She stepped back out of it and, for the first time, Callen saw the bruising on her stomach and ribs and took in a small shocked breath, which she heard.

Annabel looked at him, slightly worried at the concern in his eyes, hoping this wasn't going to change where things were headed.

Callen stepped forward and gently placed his hands over the worst of the bruises.

"I don't want to hurt you," he said. He'd known it would be bad, but the mottled colours varying from yellow right through to deep purple was worse than he had been expecting.

"You won't. Plus, didn't you once mention something about pain relief. Now you can show me," Annabel said with a cheeky smile.

"Pain relief," Callen repeated. He remembered that conversation as he'd put her shoulder back in.

"Show me," Annabel whispered just before her lips claimed his again.

Callen laid her gently back on the bed and moved over her so he could tenderly kiss each and every bruise that marred her soft skin. By the time he was done, Annabel felt like she was on fire, burning with desire and all she could think about was what he was doing to her, how he was making her feel. Then he continued, covering the rest of her with kisses and touches as he peeled off their remaining clothes. There was one point where she managed to find the focus to move, to kiss him and set his body on fire too. But Callen had more control, more patience and had her trembling and sending wave after wave of pleasure through her, relentlessly pushing her higher and further than ever before, until they eventually both crested together; leaving her feeling like she wouldn't be able to move the next day. A feeling she was more than happy to have.

Callen laid awake for a while after Annabel fell asleep, curled up into him. Not that he wasn't ready to sleep, he was pleasantly exhausted, but he was watching her and thinking. She'd been through so much, yet she was still so giving. Still willing to risk everything on him. Someone with barely any past of his own. His life was filled with so many different alias' and lives. He hardly knew anything about his parents, didn't really know his name. Yes he knew that G was deliberate and that apparently at one point his name had been Gregory, at least on paper. His determination to get answers grew.

Originally it had been just because they needed them. Someone was after him, someone had hurt her and taken Zoe away. Now there was more. He wanted her to know who he was, though admittedly, not everything he had done. There were definitely things that he had no intention of sharing with her or anyone else. Annabel knew what kind of life he lived, work-wise. She lived it herself. He had fallen hard and fast for this woman he'd barely known a week, yet it almost felt like a lifetime. There had been so much happening since she'd deliberately crashed into him in that bar. Mitch had used her, playing with the little strings in her life to keep her on track to be a part of his, causing her so much pain as he did. Whilst the idea that all of this had happened to her because of some unknown man's obsession with him, was sickening, he couldn't imagine not having met her. Couldn't imagine not having her in his life, being with her, loving her. He needed to try to find a way to make this relationship of theirs work, because somehow, in this last week, she had become essential to his life; as essential as air and water.

Callen looked down at her as she snuggled in closer in her sleep. He brushed aside some of her blonde hair that had fallen over her face. She was willing to give up her life for him. He knew that, had been able to see it in the protective look in her eyes, in her actions and determination over this last week, even though she hadn't known him and even after everything that she had learned, that hadn't changed. He knew that it was part of who she was. She'd done it for Hetty, too. She was part of his family, and just like the rest of his family, he would protect her, fight for her, not let her down, even if he had to give up his life for her. Because just like Jennifer, she'd made his heart whole. And he remembered just how much better a man that made him. Unable to resist, he moved slightly and tilted her head so he could kiss her, just once more before he went to sleep. She kissed him back and her eyes fluttered open a little to look at him when he stopped.

"You waking me for a reason?" Annabel asked sleepily.

"No, just wanted to kiss you goodnight," Callen explained as he settled her back against his chest.

"That's a perfectly valid reason. Feel free to do it anytime," she said, her voice drowsy as she sounded like she was almost asleep before she'd finished.

"Happy Birthday," he whispered in her hair.

"It has been," she replied.


	39. Chapter 39

_A/N - With the crazy Christmas season now underway, the posting of this story is going to slow down just a little. I am going to aim to have one chapter out a week over the Christmas/New Year time. So much going on at home and I'll be focusing on my Christmas story "A Christmas Carol G Style" which I started posting the other day, so it is all done by Christmas Eve. Because a Christmas story after Christmas just would seem weird. Hope to see some of you over there! Have a great Holiday season and thanks so much for your support._

_Okay so back to the mission. _

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_._

**Chapter 39**

.

By mid-afternoon the next day, the eyes that were searching the files for some scrap of information that would give them any kind of lead were all tired. They'd made it through about half the files, but didn't have anything. When the words of a sentence blurred for the fifth time, Callen threw down the file in frustration. He couldn't figure out if there was anything in a file if he couldn't read it.

The action was repeated slowly around the table and everyone seemed to be trying to figure out what to do next.

"All right," Annabel said as she stood up and stretched as best she could. "Field trip. I think we've all had enough black and white for now."

"Where are we going?" Callen asked, standing up quickly, relishing the idea of getting out of the office.

"Mitch's apartment," she said. "It's ten minutes from here. We can walk it in half an hour if you want, or we can take the car."

"Car," Grey said, indicating to the windows. They turned and looked. It was raining.

"Car it is. Let's go," Sam said, as eager as Callen to get out. He turned to Eric. "You want to come Eric?"

Eric looked up and shook his head. "Nope. Cara and I have some ideas we're working on. We'll be fine."

They spent an hour at Mitch's apartment going through every drawer, book and cupboard, but there wasn't anything that gave them a clue to who he had been working for or where he might have been going after the job was over.

"He's covered his tracks well hasn't he?" Sam remarked.

Annabel frowned. "Too well, but he wasn't that clever. He's had help. He must have." She looked at Grey. "You know he was hopeless at filing, at clearing his desk. You remember how many times Graham pulled him up on it."

"Yeah," Grey agreed. "So who's been helping him?"

"What do you mean?" Callen asked, glancing between Annabel and Grey.

Annabel turned to him. "Mitch was, as much as I hate to admit it, a great people manager and he had a great mind for planning missions, but he was hopeless at organisation in the office itself. Paperwork, filing, getting back to people, unless it was related to a mission we were about to go out on. Then he was meticulous and prompt. It was a pretty shocking difference. It was one of the reasons he always missed out on promotions. He was ..." Annabel's eyes went wide and she sat down quickly as realisation settled on her. Her hand went to her head as she groaned.

"That was an act too."

"Bel?"

Annabel looked up at Grey, her eyes and her voice filled with disbelief. "How could he keep me in the field, unless he was in charge of me? He didn't need anyone else to cover his tracks. He was quite capable of doing it himself. God, how blind was I?"

Her fingers rubbed at her temples. She could feel the makings of a headache coming on that had nothing to do with her injuries and everything to do with the frustration of not being able to find anything to help.

"Not your fault," Callen assured her as he sat down next to her. "You weren't the only one who didn't see it."

Annabel rested her head back against the couch and turned her head to him. "I know." She slowly let out a deep breath.

"Back to the office?" she suggested.

"It's a least been a break from the paperwork." Callen stood up and held his hand out to her. Annabel took it gratefully.

They returned to the office and continued going over files, even though most of them felt that it was highly unlikely they would find anything. It was really the only lead they could work at the moment. A bright spot in the day happened around seven pm when Annabel's phone rang. Absently she picked it up and answered.

"Robinson."

She was flicking through some pages in a file and she stopped suddenly, her head raised and Callen noticed the bright smile that lit up her face.

"Shawn, that's great. Congratulations... Dad."

She listened for a moment.

"Let us know when you're all up for visitors ...Love you too, all of you."

Annabel hung up.

"Well, come on Bel, tell me," demanded Grey. Hetty and Cara's eyes were firmly focused on her too, expectantly. If at all possible, the smile got bigger.

"Baby girl, Lilah. Couple of hours ago. Everyone's perfect." The tears gathered in her eyes, but Callen noticed the look and knew they were happy ones.

"Shawn with a baby, still can't picture it," Grey said. "Guess I'll see soon."

"He'll call when they're ready for us. Probably tomorrow sometime."

Annabel looked around them all and shook her head slightly. "Okay, that's enough. Eric, Cara," she stood and gathered up some files that they felt needed more investigation before moving to them. "Tomorrow, not tonight, can you go over these and pull details on any name that is mentioned, any place and anything else you think of at all. We'll go over what you find when we get back."

"Where are you going?" Eric asked.

"Brighton. Mitch had a holiday place there. Honestly, it seems like going through the files is pointless. The ones I gave you only have a thin thread suggesting that something odd might have happened. The holiday flat, that's our last place to check. Depending on how it goes, we'll be back in the office either late afternoon or the following morning."

Everyone stood up, ready to leave.

"Anyone feel like grabbing a bite to eat somewhere?" Eric asked.

Only Cara seemed up for it. Annabel had been about to agree until a yawn hit her and she realised how tired she was. She was thankful the headache hadn't gotten much worse.

"Guess you are going straight home to bed," Grey said with a chuckle and a cheeky wink.

"What time tomorrow?" Annabel asked him, ignoring his underlying comment.

"We either leave before seven or after nine-thirty."

"After nine-thirty," came Kensi's quick answer. Callen looked at her.

"Planning a big night out are you?" he asked.

Kensi blushed slightly, actually blushed, and Callen curiosity kicked up a notch.

"No," Kensi denied, "but I'd like to get a decent nights sleep again. I'm still recovering."

"Recovering my ass," said Sam, as all the lights finally went on in his head regarding some things he had noticed with Kensi's behaviour. "You've got a date."

"Excuse me? I have not."

"You have." There was such confidence in Sam's words. "That's why you've been looking at your watch for the last hour, and been all fidgety," Sam continued.

"Kenz?" Callen wanted to know when she'd had the time to find a date.

"It's just a drink," Kensi admitted. "And I need to go." She slipped out quickly before anyone could say anything else

"Think who ever he is will make it to two?" Sam asked.

Callen shrugged. "Depends."

"On?" Eric asked curious.

"Whether she likes the accent," Callen remarked. "It might be a novelty for her."

They all left then, Sam deciding to join Eric, after a quiet word with him making sure he wasn't going to be intruding. Eric had blushed but assured Sam he wasn't; that he and Cara were just friends.

"So, is my accent a novelty to you?" Annabel asked once they were back at her apartment.

"No," Callen said, pulling her carefully into his arms, knowing her injuries were still hurting her. "Not after you for your accent."

"But you are after me?" Annabel teased, a lightness to her voice that Callen wished was there all the time.

"Yes," Callen admitted.

"For?"

"Some food," Callen answered, knowing it wasn't the answer she was looking for. Annabel rolled her eyes and let him go.

"Leftovers from last night should be in the fridge."

"How?" Callen asked. They hadn't brought anything with them.

"Mum and Dad. They'll have dropped some off before flying home today."

"You didn't get to spend much time with them."

Annabel shrugged as she stepped into the kitchen, opened the fridge and pulled out the leftovers that were sitting on the shelf complete with a little note from her mother which made her smile. She placed them on the bench.

"They understand we're in the middle of something big. We'll go see them when things settle down. Don't want them knowing what is going on right now. They don't need to know about Mitch and Zoe."

Callen stepped up behind her and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her back against him. Her hands dropped to rest on his.

"Are you going to tell them?" Callen asked.

"No." Annabel let out a sigh and Callen felt her shoulders drop in resignation. "Yes, but not until it's over."

Callen turned Annabel around in his arms.

"Why not? I know you get a lot of support from them."

The determination in her face heightened and she shook her head, grimacing slightly as a sharp pain speared behind her eyes. Looked like that headache was kicking in. Callen noticed and frowned.

"Just a headache," she told him before she answered his other question. "When he has paid for what he did, then I'll tell them, because I don't want to answer my father's guaranteed question of 'What will you do to him when you find him?' I'd much rather just be able to say he got what he deserved." Because she knew that her answer would just worry them more than anything else. Whoever had taken Zoe away from her was going to pay. She'd make sure of it.

Callen slid his fingers into her hair and gently massaged her head as he spoke. Her eyes drifted closed as he did.

"It's going to be okay. We'll find out who did this."

"I know."

After a minute or two, Callen stopped and they heated up the leftovers and took them to the table to eat.

"Do you know anything else about your mother?" Annabel asked him.

"Not really. Graham was right. He told us most of it in the meeting. There's barely anything on my father in there. I guess maybe because he wasn't around anymore they didn't pass that information on about him. I might ask him and see. I don't know how I'm going to find her. But she's the only one who would know who this might be. Unless Graham can get in touch with the other member."

Callen had been disappointed about the lack of information, but given what Graham had said about the kind of organisation The Twelve was, it made sense that there weren't many personal details of either the members or the missions. He did know that his mother and father had worked together as partners for most of that time, that his father had an affinity for weapons and martial arts, but that was it. There were no photos aside from the one that had been given to Vance, or past names even. Callen figured that the names they had been using as part of The Twelve probably weren't their original ones. He wondered whether there might be family out there somewhere, if his parents had brothers or sisters, then maybe he wasn't completely alone.

After a couple more mouthfuls, Callen continued.

"She was so good at what she did. She's kept out of sight for so long. She doesn't want to be found." Callen let out a breath. His frustration with everything kicking in with his next words. "Yet here I am thinking I can find her. Even though everything I have on her is over thirty years old. They weren't even able to trace her yearly phone calls. They tried but half the time they found it was coming from their switchboards, which it wasn't, the others the call had been routed through at least six countries before the trail just dropped out of existence."

"You said you had a notebook with addresses. You think that was her?"

"Nate seems to think it was the same person. He even narrowed it down to being a female. So it could be."

Annabel reached over and took his hand in hers. She could hear that he didn't feel like they would find her. She hated hearing that lack of hope in him.

"Assume it was her," she said softly. "You know she was around back then. She knew where you were. That's not nothing."

Callen lifted her hand to his lips. He appreciated what she was doing, trying to encourage him.

"It doesn't help me find her though," he said, settling their hands back on the table but keeping hold of hers.

"Then let's cross our fingers we find something in Brighton or Gibbs gets something in Washington."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

The next morning they were on their way to Brighton just after nine thirty.

Annabel and Callen had stopped by the hospital first after Annabel had received a text from Shawn saying the new little family were up for visitors. Callen had stood back and watched the interaction between Shawn, Diana, Annabel and little Lilah. Watched as Shawn had encouraged Annabel to sit, placed a pillow on her lap and carefully taken off her sling before bringing Lilah over and placing her in Annabel's arms. He'd watched as she'd tenderly stroked Lilah's cheek and spoken to her in soft, gentle tones. He'd seen the tears and was concerned, until Shawn had stepped over to him.

"She's fine Callen. We've talked with her well before now. She knew we were having a girl. We wanted to make sure she was ready for this. She is. She's happy."

That could explain why they were the only ones here. Callen wondered if this had been planned, that perhaps they had wanted to give Annabel the privacy to respond however she needed to, without witnesses.

When Annabel had looked up at him and smiled, he knew Shawn was right. She was happy. Of course she would be. She cared about them, they were her family too and she wanted them to be happy. That was all that mattered to her. They left the new little family and made there way to the office to meet up with the rest of the team before heading off.

Sam's dinner with Eric and Cara had gone well. Apparently there was no romance on the menu between the two of them and Sam hadn't felt like a third wheel or a chaperone. He had found out that Eric could be even more animated and chatty when he was talking with someone who understood the same language. Cara was quite an intelligent girl, friendly and bubbly, once she relaxed. Sam found out her father had been a British equivalent of a Navy Seal, though he had died when she was thirteen. She had some stories to share with Sam and he'd decided he liked the little kid, (because he couldn't think of the petite, brown haired, green eyed girl as anything more than a kid,) almost as much as he liked Eric.

Kensi on the other hand, wouldn't talk about her night.

"Come on, Kensi. Where did you go?" Callen asked during their drive.

"It was just drinks, no big deal okay," Kensi protested.

Sam snorted, one that showed clearly his disbelief at her description of the night. "Just drinks? If it was just drinks than why didn't you get back to the apartment until almost midnight?"

"Midnight Kenz?" Callen was definitely curious. They'd left the office just after seven, which meant five hours for drinks.

"Fine, we ate too. What's the big deal?" Kensi asked rolling her eyes in exasperation at the two of them.

"The big deal, is you won't tell us anything," Sam advised her.

Annabel chuckled. "Seriously, you two are worse than Grey. No wonder the poor girl doesn't want to tell you about her love life."

"It's not a love life. It was just drinks," Kensi protested fiercely.

"And dinner," Sam added.

"Sounds like a date to me," Callen confirmed.

"So does that make two dates; one for the drinks and one for the dinner?" Sam asked, still trying to figure out where she'd managed to find the time to chat up a guy.

"When are you going to take Annabel out for a date?" Kensi asked Callen, trying to deflect the subject.

Callen opened his mouth to retort with something but he didn't - couldn't. Considering where they were with their relationship, it kind of shocked him when he realised that they hadn't actually been out on a date yet. Because he didn't include the bar where they met. They hadn't even had a drink there together. The birthday party? Maybe he could swing that as their first.

"Wouldn't mind knowing that myself," Grey said.

Annabel hit him. She was in the front passengers seat which gave her opportunity with her good arm.

"Hey!"

"Well. You had enough fun at my expense at the party. Stay out of my love life," Annabel warned him.

Sam chuckled from the back. "Well, that answers that question. Now that we know where G and Annabel stand … or is that lie?" Sam was lucky that Kensi was in the middle. "Kensi. Who is he?"

Kensi groaned, put her head back and closed her eyes, doing her best to ignore the continued probing from her two team mates. Thankfully after five more minutes of no response from her they eventually gave up.

It took just over an hour for them to get to the holiday flat. It was small, overlooked the beach, but wasn't flashy. It was sparsely furnished and it didn't take them long to go through it completely.

They found nothing.

They stood in the living area looking at each other, the tension radiating through the room at yet another dead end. No one knew what to say. In frustration, Callen picked up a book that was on the table and threw it at a picture on the wall; a picture of a happy family that had been taunting him since they had arrived. The shattering of the glass in the picture made everyone jump, just before the book thudded to the floor.

"Damn," Callen swore. "We've got nothing."

Annabel stepped over to him, placing a hand on his arm. He turned to looked at her.

"Callen, we'll find her."

Callen could see how desperately she was holding onto that hope, could see the despair she was fighting back. His was fading too.

"How?" he asked. "We've got nothing to go on."

"We know a lot," Annabel replied, the hope fighting back and winning slightly. "We know who she was, what she could do. It's likely she still watches you. She has to be the one who wrote in the notebook. The one who sent the note to your Director. She knew where you were, every home you were in. Why would she stop just because you turned eighteen? If she was going to stop then, why bother watching you at all?"

Watching. But nothing else.

"She couldn't be bothered to say hi, or come back for me." Callen didn't try and hide the pain that came through in his voice as he spoke. It hurt. Badly. Right now, any other emotion was better than the hopelessness he was feeling.

"Do you really think it was easy for her?" Annabel stepped closer as she tried to encourage him. Build his hope back up a little. "If she's been watching you all this time, she's had to stand back and watch you put your life on the line, watch you almost die and not be able to do a thing about. Not be able to comfort you, help you. That's not easy."

Callen remembered Zoe and gently touched her face, trying to erase the pain that he could see there.

"I'm sorry," Callen said softly. Annabel's hand went up to his. Callen felt the pain in him fade slightly at her touch, and be replaced by something else he couldn't quite define. But it was good and he wondered if it had to do with pain that seemed to be easing in her. Because he could see it in her eyes, see it fading as she held his hand to her cheek. Maybe this sharing thing wasn't so bad after all; if it eased it for both of them.

"Watching a child suffer or die is hard enough," Annabel continued. "Not being able to do anything when it is your own is hell on earth. But she has her reasons. She must." Callen could hear the desperation in her voice, hear how desperately she wanted him to believe it. "She has done everything she knows to keep out sight, off their radar, whoever they are. She's tried to keep you off theirs too. She's given up everything to keep you safe. You think she doesn't love you, but you're wrong."

Annabel's eyes pleaded with him to believe her.

"How do you know that?" Callen didn't want to have the hope flare only to be dashed again, but he could help it. She did that to him. Gave him hope that life would get better, that things weren't quite as bad as they seemed.

"How could she not?" Annabel watched the battle on his face. "We'll find something. There still the files, still that house in Washington," she reminded them.

Callen shook his head reluctantly. He hadn't wanted to tell her this. "There's nothing from the house. They got nothing."

They hadn't even been able to get anything on the vehicle or the suspect. Gibbs was going to keep looking but at this point they had no direction or clues to go on.

Callen watched as Annabel's face went white, after the implication of his words sank.

"Nothing?" she choked out in despair.

"I'm sorry." Callen took a small step closer but she backed away, ran out of the room and down the stairs. Callen let her go. He had no idea what to say to her. She'd bared her soul, put herself through so much to get that information and now, to find it hadn't given them a thing. What could he say to her that would make it better? He did move to the window and watch as she crossed the road and ran down the beach. He watched her sink down to the sand. He could almost see her shoulders shaking, though that was more in his head than from his eyes. She was too far away. But at least he knew where she was.

Callen turned back to the others. Grey was looking shocked, though nothing like Annabel.

"I'm sorry, Grey. I wasn't planning on telling her but..."

Grey shook his head. "She had a right to know, Callen. You did the right thing."

"What do we do?" Kensi asked.

"Go back to the-"

Grey's response was cut off abruptly as the picture crashed to the ground, pulling part of the plaster off the wall as it did. They all turned at the sound and Kensi stepped closer.

"Look," she said after a moment of examining it. She picked up a piece of the broken picture frame and used it to lever off some more plaster. Revealing a small safe.

"What do we have here?" Sam asked. "Maybe this wasn't a dead end after all."

The hope flared in him and Callen grabbed it with both hands. For both of them.

"Who wants to have a go at cracking it?" Kensi asked.

"You should try, Kenz. You've got a lighter touch," Callen asked. It was a dial lock, so at least it was going to be easier to crack than a digital one.

"See what you can do," Sam agreed.

So two of the three men sat back on the couch and one stood by the window watching the woman who was still sitting on the beach, giving Kensi the quiet that she needed.

Callen wanted to go to Annabel, but he wanted to have something to give her. So he would wait until he knew what was in the safe. Wanting desperately for there to be something that would give her back the hope that he had witnessed disappear from her eyes just before with his words.

It was barely a couple of minutes later when they heard the decisive click of a lock and sound of the safe opening. Callen turned from the window to see Kensi with a triumphant smile on her face. After one last glance out the window, making sure she was still there, Callen moved over to join them.

Kensi stepped back and let Callen have the first look in the safe. There was only one thing in there. A key. He slipped a glove on, reached in and pulled it out. It had no identifying markings on it, but given that it was hidden behind a wall, in a safe, it had to be something.

Callen looked at Grey. "Any ideas?"

"Safe deposit box. Storage unit." Grey pulled out his phone and took a couple of photos. "I'll see if Cara can get anything on it. She might be able to find some options to look into before we leave down here."

Callen put the key down on the table and took of his glove. "I'll be back soon."

He walked out the door, down the stairs and across to the beach to where Annabel was. He sat down beside her, close enough that his arm touched hers.

"I'm sorry for running out like that." Her voice was heavy with pain, her head still resting on her knees.

"We found something," Callen admitted quietly.

Annabel's head shot up and her gaze flew to his. His eyes locked with hers and he saw the hope that was desperately trying to take root.

"It's just a key. In a safe, plastered up behind a picture. Grey sent a photo to Cara, to see if they could get an idea what it might be from. It's not much but..."

"It's something," Annabel whispered.

"Yeah, it's something."

Annabel turned and looked back out at the waves, the breeze blowing her hair about her face.

"Zoe means life. I chose the name when I found out she was a girl at twelve weeks. The night she was conceived … it was after we'd got caught in an explosion. There were the four of us, plus another team. Two members of the other team died. It took two hours for the rescue team to get us out of there. We'd got trapped, separated as well. I knew Grey was alive but I had no idea about Shawn or Mitch. Shawn ended up in hospital with a fractured leg and some burns. Grey ended up there too, though just overnight. He'd been unconscious for a bit. Mitch and I were lucky. Some smoke inhalation and a few minor scrapes, bruises and burns. Mitch took me home from the hospital after I'd seen them both. I'd never come that close to losing my entire team. Never felt so helpless, waiting for someone else to come to the rescue. Aside from with Hetty. I'd always been able to try and get out. But I was pinned down and couldn't risk moving. She was like a gift that came out of that, a gift of life. What else could I name her? Yet she barely lived. Because of him."

Callen slipped his arm around her and she lent into him as she continued.

"I don't know if I can do this anymore. Once I find him, once I … find a way to make him pay, I don't know what I'm going to do. I've been doing this for so long, but I don't think I can give anymore. It was one thing, thinking just about the good I was doing but now, knowing what this job has taken from me."

Annabel caught her bottom lip between her teeth to stop it trembling, a few tears slid down her cheeks.

Callen could understand. He was feeling something similar. Everyone he cared about, his past and now his parents past, was putting them all in danger. The temptation to stop this life, to disappear and start another, one that was simple and safe. One where no one bad would find him. One to ensure his family were safe. But that wasn't going to happen. Because he wasn't running anymore. He'd make this life as safe as he could, and make the most of it.

"It's not the job, Annabel. It's … whoever he is. And we'll find him. We'll find him and we'll find her."

"If this key doesn't do anything? What then?"

"You said she was probably watching me. So I send her a message, make her come to me instead … Or I let him come get me."

"No," Annabel protested as she lifted her head off his shoulder and shook it. "No, you can't do that."

"If that's what it takes to get him, to take him down, I'll do it." Callen was determined to protect those he loved. He knew that until whoever this was, was either six feet under or behind bars, that they wouldn't be safe.

The tears spilled from Annabel's eyes.

"One way or another he is going down. It's just a matter of how," Callen promised her as he wiped them away. She rested her head back on his shoulder and they both watched the gentle roll of the waves coming in and out. The soothing sound was interupted by Callen's phone ringing.

"Cara found something. You coming back or you want us to come to you?" Sam asked him.

"We'll come to you." Callen hung up and looked down at her.

"Looks like your little Cara has got something. You ready for some company?"

"No, but let's go anyway." She found it extremely calming just being with him. When she was like this, her emotions so close to the surface, she generally preferred not to have company. Apparently Callen was the exception to the rule. His presence made her feel like those wounds that were so near the surface were healing, not just being pushed back and hidden. It had taken her a long time to heal from Tom and she'd thought it would take even longer to recover from Zoe, but Callen was making a difference and she could feel things getting better, just that little bit quicker than before she'd met him. Whether that was because it was all out in the open now and she was given no choice but to deal with the pain; whether it was because the guilt that Zoe dying had been her fault was now gone, or whether it was simply him, she wasn't sure. But she was grateful, whatever it was. Because she didn't want to grieve for so long again. She wanted to be able to remember Zoe, think about her without the overwhelming pain. She could only hope that she was able to give him something similar regarding his parents, his mother in particular. She knew it hurt him badly that she hadn't come back. She hadn't needed his outburst yesterday or earlier to tell her that. It had been so clear in his eyes in the conference room back in Washington and she'd been able to see that nothing had changed.

Callen stood up and reached out his hand. Annabel put hers in his and he helped her up, pulling her into his arms. He held her for a moment, then tilted her face up to his and kissed her; softly, gently and sweetly.

"I won't let him get away with this. He's taken too much from both of us."

Annabel frowned, confused by that last statement.

"My mother ran for a reason, she stayed away for a reason. I figure there is a high probability he's why," Callen explained. At least that was what his gut was telling him and for now, he would hold onto that. Given what the unknown man had done so far, and how he strongly he felt about protecting his family from him, maybe she had felt the same way.

Annabel saw the renewed hope in Callen's eyes; saw that there was a small part of him that was starting to believe that his mother may have stayed away for a decent reason. A determination to succeed ran through her. It was a familiar feeling that had somehow slipped away these last few days. Somehow, she would find a way to help him get answers. To find whoever was behind this and find his mother. It was why she did this job. To make things a little better for someone. Answers would do that for him.

Callen turned them around and they walked back to the others in a comfortable silence, both having a little more hope in their hearts than they had barely half an hour ago.

"What did Cara find?" Annabel asked as they walked through the door.

"Not likely to be a safety deposit box, but there are only two storage unit companies down here that don't use coded doors," Grey told them, his eyes focused on Annabel. She could feel them burning through her, looking straight into her heart. Straight into the mixed up part of her that was both hurting and healing, all at once. Grey's gaze moved from her to Callen as he continued. "Cara's checked the phone numbers of both against records on Mitch's computers and his phone and found a match. It was listed under family, but doubtful that it was since he doesn't have any listed on file."

"How are we going to get in?" Callen asked.

"Eric's working on getting into their system to see what kind of security checks they'll do before letting us in. He's also going to send up some details of the building, just in case we have to find another entry point."

"How long before we know?" Sam asked.

"Maybe twenty minutes. It'll give us some time to eat lunch. There's that great fish and chip shop just down the road."

Eric and Cara called whilst they were eating. They had details of the unit Mitch had secured, found it had been paid up for another six months. Just to be sure, Graham had organised documentation that Kensi was a long lost niece and sole heir to Mitch's belongings, who had been tragically killed whilst overseas catching up with her. They found a place that they could print the documents at and Eric sent them the death certificate and Will so they could print them of to take them to the storage unit.

Grey and Kensi would be going into the office, whilst Callen, Sam and Annabel made their way in from around the back of the units, just in case anyone tried to tamper with it. Memories of Keelson's data warehouse still fresh enough in the minds to cause concern. The plan was once Callen, Sam and Annabel were in place near the appropriate unit, Kensi and Grey, who would be portraying a representative from the law firm, were to go into the office and start their performance. If everything went well, Kensi and Grey would be allowed access and they would retrieve whatever was there and leave with Callen, Sam and Annabel staying out of sight. That was the ideal plan, though they were not expecting it to be that simple. They were right.

A few minutes after Kensi and Grey arrived at the office, one of the employees was spotted sneaking around to the unit, key in hand.

Callen and Sam quickly and quietly subdued him. They took the spare key and gave it to Annabel who unlocked the door. They weren't going to wait any longer now. Annabel opened it and stepped tentatively through the door. She stopped just inside, her breath catching in her throat at what was inside.

Five boxes. Two for Callen. Two for Hetty and one for her.

"Annabel?" Callen called out.

She didn't even hear him. This was it. They'd found it.

Callen stepped up behind her when she didn't answer them. As he looked around, he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Guess we've got something after all," Callen said.

Annabel turned and looked up at him. She looked shocked.

"Didn't you trust me?" Callen teased. "Told you we'd find something." In all honesty, he couldn't blame her for being shocked. He had tried not to hope for too much as well.

Annabel shook her head, pulling herself out of the daze she'd dropped into.

"We should get these out of here now. Just in case," she suggested.

"G, got company," Sam called out when he heard footsteps but couldn't see anyone yet.

Callen stepped back out the door to see Kensi and Grey turn a corner a bit further up the aisle, thankfully alone.

"What do we do with this guy?" Sam asked.

Callen stepped up to him. "What were you going to do?"

The young man, who didn't look like he had been out of his teens for long, stuttered out his answer.

"I was ... I was supposed to start a fire in there if anyone else but him came looking for his stuff. He ... He put the stuff in there. I just had to light it."

Callen pulled out his phone and brought up a picture of Mitch. "Is this the guy?" Callen wasn't entirely sure of the answer he was looking for. Yes, would be good in that this was the information Mitch had been referring to. No could mean another lead.

The suspect nodded.

Kensi and Grey stepped out of the unit carrying two boxes each. "There's one left, Callen. Plus some flammable liquids."

Sam looked at Callen who took a photo of the suspect then shrugged and said, "Let him go." They'd set someone up to follow him for a few weeks, see if anything else was going on, but the most important thing was to get these boxes out of here. Before anyone else came along to destroy them. Sam let the suspect go abruptly and the kid almost fell before scrambling to his feet and fleeing. Callen went into the unit, grabbed the last box and they made there way back to the car to head back to London.


	40. Chapter 40

_A/N – Thanks once again for the support for this story. So here is this week's update._

_I hope you are all having a happy holiday season. Merry Christmas._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_._

**Chapter 40**

**.**

On the drive back to London, Marcus called Annabel.

"So, I'm leaving in the morning. Meet me for drinks tonight?"

"You have to go already?" Annabel asked disappointment evident in her tone.

"Already stayed longer than I planned. Was supposed to head off yesterday."

"Just me or can I bring the others?"

Marcus gave a soft chuckle.

"If you are meaning Callen, I wouldn't have expected you to leave him behind, but by all means, bring the rest of his crazy companions as well. They seem to fit well with us."

"That Marcus?" Grey asked.

Annabel nodded then turned and looked at the three in the back. "Any of you up for going out for drinks with Marcus tonight? He leaves tomorrow."

Callen could easily see that she wanted to, and even though the boxes in the back of the car were calling to him, he nodded. Her friend was leaving. He knew how important Marcus was to her. And, given the rollercoaster she'd already been through today, with Lilah, finding out they had nothing, then finding the files, he wanted her to have some fun.

"Sure," came Kensi's easy reply.

Sam grinned. "Tell him I'll be there as long as he brings the bike."

Annabel smiled at Sam's response and, before she could tell Marcus yes, she heard him laugh through the phone.

"Tell Sam to bring his license and I'll even let him take it for a ride."

"I'm sure you'll have a friend for life then. Ric's?" she asked.

"Where else. See you at seven?"

Annabel checked her watch and considered how much further they had to drive. It was raining slightly but there was barely any traffic which was a pleasant change. "Should be able to make it by six thirty. We can eat then too. You know I can't resist Ric's burgers."

"You just want to take Callen home early," Marcus teased her cheekily.

"So? You'd want to do the same," she retorted. She knew that taking him home early wasn't likely, not with the boxes in the back, but at least this way she would know that he had eaten something.

"Not with Callen though," Marcus corrected. "Six thirty it is, and who knows. I might get lucky and want to go home early myself. See you tonight."

Marcus hung up before Annabel could question him further about that comment.

She stared at her phone for a moment before putting it away. Marcus was puzzling her. That didn't usually happen. She'd known him way too long and too well for that. She slid her glance across at Grey who was driving.

"Why didn't Marcus leave yesterday?" Annabel asked, her tone thoughtful as she mulled over everything. Marcus was staying with Grey, he should know.

"He said he was having drinks with a business associate last night, was planning on following it up today," Grey replied as he changed lanes and passed a slow moving truck.

Annabel shook her head. "Grey, you need to retire if you believed him."

Grey shrugged. He hadn't. "Wasn't really my business. Not like I minded seeing him for longer."

"What's up?" Kensi asked from the back seat. Annabel turned slightly to look back at them.

"Marcus doesn't do business and drink. He's seen too many deals or contacts get messed up when one or the other got a little too drunk." Annabel turned back to Grey. "He mentioned there might be a girl. Has he said anything to you?"

"Nope." Grey glanced across to her briefly. "You think he's met someone?"

"Don't know. But I intend on finding out tonight."

Grey chuckled. "Poor guy doesn't stand a chance. Be gentle with him, Bel. If he has found someone, it might mean he comes home more often."

Annabel smiled and settled back in her seat. Of course she'd be gentle. It was the best way to get things out of Marcus. He was an extremely successful business man. Tough and demanding attitudes sent him into that mode. Nothing slipped by him and nothing came out of his mouth that hadn't already been filtered three times at least. But the right mix of sweet, gentle and caring; that slipped under his defenses and made him talk for real. She'd had a lot of practice over the years at getting Marcus Evans to talk to her. But then so had he with her and she knew that he'd end up looking for the same thing from her tonight. She'd caught the concern in his eyes at the party, knew he wanted to ask her more but because it was a celebration and a fun night, he'd held back.

They made it back to London before the traffic got too horrendous, took the boxes into the office and checked over what Eric and Cara had pulled on those files Annabel had left them. Nothing came up as worthy of following up though, which whilst disappointing, had been expected.

Callen had started to go through his boxes the moment they had come in. Hetty had taken hers and left, with a shake of her head, a knowing smile and the comment that left them as intrigued as her stories usually did. "The success of our relationship is based on mystery, intrigue and suspense. I do not intend on messing with such a perfect formula." She'd turned to Callen after that, her voice turning serious, "If there is anything in here appropriate to the current situation Mr Callen, I will share."

Annabel hadn't started on hers yet, she was still talking to Cara and Eric about what they had been doing and getting them to follow up on the storage unit.

As time ticked by and it came close to the time to leave to meet Marcus. Annabel watched Callen carefully, still having not touched her own file. She wasn't ready for that yet.

Callen had been going through things meticulously; taking things from the top, studying them and then putting them carefully in a pile. So far, he'd been going through the records of previous missions. It seemed like the file was sorted and he'd managed to start at the earliest information. He had been tempted to just go through it quickly but if it was in a particular order for a reason, it might help him build a picture of what he was looking at. He wondered if perhaps these missions might give him a clue as to what whoever he was, was looking to get him to do. Because Callen was positive that he wasn't trying to get information out of him. He already had all this information which lead Callen to believe that he could get more without needing him. Hence it followed that he probably wanted Callen to do something for him.

Annabel placed a hand on his shoulder and silently asked him to follow her so they didn't disturb anyone else. He took her hand and she guided him out to an empty room across the hall before she turned to face him.

"You don't have to come for drinks," she said with a soft smile. "You can stay here and keep going through those boxes. I'll come back and help after."

Callen pulled her into his arms. "Let you out of my sight, not a chance."

Annabel smiled. "You want to know. You've been waiting a long time."

"Yes," Callen agreed. He had been, but not just for this information. He'd been waiting a long time for someone like her to come into his life.

"You look like you need to stay, need to keep going," Annabel added.

His heart swelled at her concern and understanding. "True, I do want to keep going." Having her in his arms was causing a different kind of need though and he lowered his head and kissed her.

"Callen." His name came across her lips in a low moan, like she was fighting what she was really wanted to do.

"Yes, I want to go through them. Yes, I want to keep going," he admitted. "But I also want to be with you, and the boxes aren't going anywhere."

Annabel stroked his cheek. "Neither am I."

"Yes you are. You and I and the others are going out for dinner and drinks. Marcus is leaving, you want to spend time with him. I want to spend time with you. We can come back to the boxes tomorrow."

Annabel shook her head. "No. We can come back together after we're eaten."

Callen nodded and smiled. "Agreed, unless I have something else on my mind by then." There was a heat in his eyes that Annabel couldn't resist and she rose up on her toes, her lips covering his softly, inviting him to continue. He accepted.

There was a knock on the door and they pulled back, both looking slightly guilty that they had completely forgotten where they were. The door opened and Kensi popped her head around the door.

"Are you still joining us at the pub?" she asked innocently, a smile twitching at her lips.

"We're coming, Kenz. It's not time to go yet is it?" Callen asked as they stepped apart and moved to the door.

"You two have been in here a while."

Annabel blushed. "How long is a while?"

"Long enough that it's time to go," said Grey as he walked out of the other room with Sam following. Grey handed Annabel her bag and Sam passed Callen his jacket.

"Eric and Cara are having a play date at her place," Sam informed them.

Grey shook his head. "Eric challenged her to a game of Halo." He looked at Callen. "I hope Eric takes losing well. Should have warned him about her before we left."

"What doesn't he know?" Sam asked as they walked toward the elevator.

"Cara's a games tester in her spare time. She doesn't do it quite as much now she's working here, but she was one of the testers for the latest game. She knows the ins and outs and cheats like no one else."

Sam chuckled. "Eric might not have been a tester, but I'm sure he's figured out the cheats by now."

"Guess we'll find out tomorrow." They all stepped into the elevator, Callen pulling his mind from the boxes as he slipped an arm around Annabel. Soon, but for now, she needed this, she needed some fun.

They stepped into the pub about ten minutes later. They'd walked to it, a surprisingly clear evening giving them no reason to take the car. A man in his early 50's stepped up to them straight away, greeting Annabel and Grey in a way that suggested a long association.

"What happened to you, Miss?" he asked giving Annabel a careful hug.

"A witch and Mitch."

"Sounds like quite a story," he replied. "One you can tell me another night. Marcus is already here."

The man turned to those who he didn't know and introduced himself. "Ric. The boss. Let me know if there are any problems tonight. Otherwise, enjoy yourselves."

They followed Ric to where Marcus was and got comfortable.

"What can I get you?" Ric asked. They ordered their drinks and ended up with burgers all round on Annabel and Grey's recommendations.

"How do you know Ric?" Callen asked Annabel. "Not an uncle or something is he?" Callen glanced at the retreating back wondering just how many men Annabel had in her life that he was going to get warnings from.

Annabel chuckled at his look. "No. He was my first boss at MI6. Grey was already working with him, so I was placed in their team at John's recommendation. Ric gave us a chance, was supportive of letting us work together even with the relationship complications. He was our strongest voice with the powers above to give us a chance. He retired four years later, deciding it was time for him to slow down, one too many trips to the ER. He took over the pub from his father, made it into a safe place to come. He takes the sign over the bar seriously."

They all glanced at the sign which Sam read out. "The owner reserves the right to remove anyone from the premises who poses a threat of any sort to anyone for any reason. You have been warned."

Callen raised his eyebrows. "Any reason?"

"Yeah. Ric's made it a safe place for us to talk if we need to, without worrying who is listening. He had a couple of his missions complicated by journalists at one point in his career and if he thinks someone is looking for a story, he has them removed."

Their drinks arrived followed five minutes later by some of the biggest and best burgers that any of them had ever tasted. Double Double's included. The conversation halted whilst they ate. Annabel had slipped her sling off, rolling her eyes at the look Callen had given her.

"Tell you what, I'll put it back on if you try and eat with one hand," she dared him.

Callen looked at the size of the burger on his plate and gave in. She'd never be able to do it, even if he could.

After they'd eaten, Annabel slipped away to the Ladies room with Kensi, Sam followed Grey to the Mens room leaving just Callen and Marcus at the table.

Callen watched Annabel until she disappeared. He turned back to find Marcus studying him intently.

Callen raised his eyebrow in question.

"She's beautiful," Marcus stated.

"Yeah, and?" Callen prompted, figuring there was more than just that behind Marcus' look.

Marcus chuckled softly. "Just so long as you know it's more than just looks."

Callen had the distinct impression that Marcus wanted to warn him to behave.

"So why haven't you gone after her?" Callen asked, deflecting the interrogation back on Marcus.

Marcus smiled a knowing smile. "Who said I haven't?"

Callen frowned, a spear of jealousy flashing through him that he couldn't stop, even though Annabel had told him that there was nothing like that between the two of them. He pushed it back.

"Nothing to worry about Callen," Marcus assured him. "Annabel and I ... We've known each other for a long time. There's nothing like that between us. By the time I was interested in girls that way, Annabel was too important to my life to take that kind of risk. She was, and is, best friend and sister. Not saying I can't appreciate her looks," Marcus added with a smile. "But she has spoilt me. Can't date blondes. Keep thinking about her when I am with them. Sisterly thoughts and dating don't mix."

Marcus' face shifted slightly from teasing to serious and sad almost.

"But?" Callen knew there was more the way the look had done a 180.

"I asked her to marry me once."

Callen almost spat out the mouthful of beer he had just taken. She never told him that.

Marcus continued, grinning at Callen's reaction which had him wondering if Marcus was serious or not. Though Marcus' next words proved that he was indeed serious.

"It was seven years ago. After... whatever it was that happened that left her in the hospital for a month. After Daniel." Marcus turned to Callen. "She tell you about Daniel?"

Callen just nodded.

"Grey and I, we took turns in helping out Nic and Pen. We'd take alternate weeks over in Ireland with them. There was one night that was particularly bad. She'd finally settled. We were curled up in bed, her head on my chest. All I could think of was how I didn't want her to go back to work, not the work she'd been doing anyway. Didn't want that to ever happen again. So asked her." Marcus chuckled softly. "Don't think I've ever seen her so shocked in my life."

"What did she say?"

Marcus looked at him, frowning. "What do you think? You see a ring on either of us? She said no. Didn't stop me pleading my case. But nothing changed her mind."

There was a certain amount of relief in knowing that she hadn't seriously considered it. At least that was the impression Marcus' words gave him. But there was something else that Callen felt; another type of relief, one that came from knowing someone you cared about had others who would take care of her, if something happened to him. Especially considering what they were involved in at the moment, knowing she had someone was a definite relief, not that he planned on anything happening to him but… He shook those thoughts off and focused back on Marcus.

"What was your case?" Callen asked, just a little bit curious. "Didn't think you felt that way for her."

"I didn't. I love her, don't get me wrong. That is definitely there, just not the right kind. But I had the money to look after her. Give her anything she wanted. A house near her parents or somewhere else. She could do what she wanted, study, work, not work. Money wasn't and isn't a problem. I just wanted her safe."

Callen could hear the sincerity in every word Marcus spoke, could hear how much Annabel mean to him.

"And you were willing to marry her to do that," Callen concluded just as Sam and Grey rejoined them.

"Yep. But she wanted more, for both of us. She wouldn't take me up on it. Said I deserved someone who could be my wife in every way."

"Don't terrify the poor man like that Marcus," Grey said as he slid into his chair. "You knew before you asked what her answer would be."

"Yeah," Marcus agreed. "But I still needed to try."

Callen's drink was empty as were some of the others, so he slipped away to get another round.

Grey chuckled as Marcus kept looking towards where the girls were, at the Jukebox picking some music.

"Can't keep your eyes off her can you?"

"Shut up, Grey," he said, flinging a cardboard coaster at him before he turned to Sam. So Sam, when do you want to have that ride?"

Sam raised his eyebrows. "You were serious?"

"Yep. Did you bring a license?"

Sam nodded. Marcus slid the keys across the table to him. "Let me show you where-"

Marcus' words trailed off as he stood up ready to head toward the exit, but something else caught his gaze. He looked at where Callen was standing at the bar. Marcus swore and moved quickly.

"Grey," Marcus almost growled as he did.

Grey turned to look, his drink falling out of his hand and spilling across the table, as he raced to follow Marcus to Callen. Sam instinctively joined them, a tension filling him that warned him things were about to get ugly. Before they could get to Callen, they saw his arm pull back and land swiftly on the guy next to him's jaw.


	41. Chapter 41

_A/N – thanks again for the great reviews. Hope everyone had a terrific Christmas, whatever you got up to and whatever the weather was like!_

_So, here we go, another week another update. The madness continues in my home with a couple of birthdays to organize so it will probably be another week before the next update but after that, fingers crossed, things should pick up a little._

_Disclaimer in Chatper 1. _

_Now, let's see who it was that provoked our dear Callen._

_._

**Chapter 41**

.

Callen placed the order for their drinks and lent against the bar as he thought about the conversation he'd just had with Marcus. It had shocked him a little that he'd considered what might happen with Annabel if something happened to him. It wasn't that he didn't care about her, he knew he did. He knew exactly how much he did. But it was the first time in a long time that he had contemplated the personal side of what someone in his life would go through if he died. Sure, he'd occasionally wondered what the team would do if something happened on a mission, and whilst he considered the team his family, he also knew that it was simply a risk in their line of work. The same risk that Annabel and her team faced. But the personal side had been his focus with his earlier thoughts, not the job side. It added to the complexity of his life and the way it had changed so much over the last week. The best part was that he didn't have any regrets. He didn't have that 'run for your life' feeling that kept haunting him after Jennifer, whenever he'd strayed into the dating arena and saw the look in some girl's eye that she was interested in more than just a casual something. He smiled slightly to himself. He really should tell Annabel some of this; at least how he felt. The boxes could wait until tomorrow. After this drink, he'd take her home and…

The man next to him started to talk to him, distracting him from his thoughts. He wasn't that interested and hoped the drinks would come quickly.

"So you're her new man?" the man asked finally gaining Callen's attention.

"Excuse me?" Callen frowned and turned to face him.

"Annabel. You should be careful about her." The man tilted his head in the direction of the jukebox where Annabel and Kensi were standing there laughing quietly. A smile drifted across his face at the two of them. He was glad they seemed to get along well together.

"What about her?" Callen asked as he looked back to the man next to him. He seemed like a decent looking guy and his clothes suggested money. There was a look in his eye that suggested he was reasonably drunk and Callen figured he didn't know what he was talking about. He turned away, intent on ignoring him and trying to get back to his previous thoughts on how to tell Annabel he loved her.

"You seem like a nice guy," the man continued. "Just wouldn't want you to get caught up in her psychotic messy head."

"Think you've got the wrong girl," Callen replied, relieved as his drink order was placed in front of him. He handed over some cash and his hand went to the tray to pick it up but the next words from his neighbour stopped him.

"Nope. Annabel Robinson. Don't have the wrong girl. She's hard to forget and she's nuts, mate. Leave her whilst you can."

Callen stiffened and turned to face him, forgetting about the waiting drinks. His eyes narrowed at the man.

"Who the hell are you?" Callen demanded.

The man put down his glass and held out his hand; obviously drunk enough to miss the threat in Callen's voice and to think that it was welcome gesture. "Daniel. Pleased to-"

Callen's fist landed right on his jaw with enough force to send Daniel back off the chair and sprawling onto the floor. The name was all it took for Callen to make the connection, to spark that reaction. This was the guy who'd left her in hell, alone; callously walked out on her when she'd needed him to stay. This was someone who had hurt Annabel badly and whilst he couldn't yet do anything about the one who had taken Zoe from her, hadn't been able to stop Mitch hurting her when he'd been strapped to that chair, he could do something about him. Callen made to move toward Daniel; to have another go but Grey and Sam had their hands him before he could. It took both of them to hold him back.

"What's going on?" came Ric's booming voice from just behind. "You know the rules, Grey."

Callen couldn't take his eyes of Daniel and if it wasn't for Sam hissing in his ear to stop, he'd have broken away from them and made sure Daniel need a hospital bed.

"Ric, that's Daniel. Give him a break," Grey said, wrenching his gaze from the man on the floor to turn to Ric.

"Daniel? The Daniel?" There was slight disbelief in the way Ric said the name, though by the time he said it the second time, it was filled with anger.

"Yeah," Grey said glancing at the man who was struggling to get up off the floor. If Grey hadn't felt the tension in Callen, he'd have given Ric a damn good reason to kick him out as well. Marcus stood in between, eyes darting between Grey, Callen and Daniel, like he was waiting for the next shoe to drop.

Ric whistled and three guys came out of nowhere; three big guys who were obviously security.

"Him," Ric said, pointing to Daniel. "Get him out of here and make sure he doesn't come back," he ordered.

"What's going on?"

Callen's attention was ripped away from Daniel as his eyes went to the owner of the familiar voice as Annabel joined them.

"Annabel. Long time, no see," Daniel said as he finally stood up, rubbing his jaw, just before the three security guards surrounded him.

Annabel's shocked intake of breath could be heard by them all as she spun around to face Daniel, before Marcus could reach her and stop her.

"Daniel." The word hissed out on her breath in shock and she froze. The world in front of her disappeared, and she was thrown back seven years, to another time, another place - a place of terror. Her heart rate flew up, her breathing uneven, shallow and she went white; deathly white as all hint of colour drained from her face.

"Annabel!" Marcus called from right in front of her, his hands cupping her face. "Annabel, come on, come on. Come back." Marcus' voice filled with desperation.

Grey and Callen were by her side in an instant. Ric stepped up closely behind. "My office. Let's get her there now."

"Bel, come on. Let's go." There was no response. Her eyes were wide and dark, she wasn't responding at all. Marcus picked her up and they moved quickly to the office, away from the crowd of spectators. Just as Marcus set her down on the couch, her head dropped back slightly and she let out a blood curdling scream that just kept going on and on whilst tears streamed down her face. Every muscle in her was tense and her fingers dug into Marcus where they had hold of him.

"Annabel," Marcus said firmly, ignoring the pain from her fingers. "It's just a nightmare. It's not real. Come back to us."

"Help," the word escaped her lips once the scream died down. She was trembling badly, the tears falling, eyes still wide and black, but she didn't respond any further than that whispered plea. Grey sat beside her, rubbed her back, whispered softly in her ear. Marcus moved to the other side of her as Callen came close, her hands having loosened enough to pry them off him and letting Callen take the position in front of Annabel that he seemed to be wanting.

Callen put his hands on her face, held it, forcing her gently to look at him, at least with her face. Again, as with her nightmare the other night, her eyes were flicking everywhere. He called her name, tried to get her to focus her eyes on him. He was slightly relieved when she whispered his name; it gave him hope that she knew he was there. It didn't last long as a despair filled 'No' tore from her throat just before she screamed again.

Callen's heart raced. He had no idea what he could do to bring her out of it. His hand slipped down to her neck, to feel her pulse. It didn't take much to figure out it was dangerously high. They needed to get it down, get her back before it was too late, before she needed a hospital.

"Annabel." Callen repeated her name over and over, until she seemed to include him where her eyes flicked to. It was progress, not much but something to hang on to.

"Annabel, you're safe. You're at Ric's. Grey, Marcus and I. We're here with you. You're here."

"Callen, make it stop. Don't let him..." she begged with a broken voice.

"Come back to me. Come back to us and it will. Look at me, not at him. Just at me," Callen urged her.

Whimpers came from her as she fought to follow his instructions. Callen braced himself for another scream but it didn't come. She was fighting hard, her grip on him, he was sure would bruise but he didn't care.

Slowly, they all felt the change in her.

Grey felt it through his hand on her back as the tension left her muscles, just a tiny bit at a time but he was that in tune with her that he knew.

Marcus felt it as the trembling slowed down and her breathing settled slightly.

Callen felt it as her death grip on him eased and her eyes spent more time on him than somewhere else. He kept talking, kept reassuring her she was safe, that he was there, they all were. He slipped his hand back to her neck and let out a sigh of relief that her heart rate had slowed. It was still too high, but it was slower. Her eyes were starting to go green again.

"Callen," Annabel cried out again softly, her hands finally releasing their grip. Callen moved then, closer to her and wrapped his arms around her. She didn't cry this time, but she held on tight, like he was her lifeline.

"We need to get her home," Grey said quietly.

A hand appeared out of nowhere with a set of keys. "Take my car, it's out back. She won't have to go through the bar." It was Ric.

Callen glanced around and saw the concern on everyone's faces; in particular Sam's and he knew it was concern for both of them. Sam wasn't just worried about Annabel; he was worried about Callen too.

"Callen, I need to talk to you before we go." Grey crouched down to Annabel, looked her in the eyes. "Bel, can you let go of Callen and go to Marcus? Just for a minute."

Callen started to protest.

"Callen," Grey said firmly. "I just need to talk to you. Bel doesn't need to hear this. She'll be fine with Marcus. They've been through this before."

Callen looked at Annabel as she lifted her head off his shoulder. She nodded her agreement and he let go. Marcus' arms were around her almost before Callen had removed his, pulling her safely onto his lap. She curled up against him, almost in the fetal position, her head tucked under his chin against his chest. Her eyes never left Callen as he rose up and moved to where Grey stood.

"What?" Callen asked impatiently, his gaze flicking between Annabel and Grey and back again.

"Can you handle this with her, or do you want me to come and stay?" Grey asked.

Sam stepped closer and Callen knew he was wondering the same thing.

"I can help her," Callen confirmed, his tone gentler and confident. He would be there for her, he wouldn't leave. Given what he knew about the situation he could understand why Grey was concerned. He also understood that this conversation was definitely better had now, when there was someone else that Annabel trusted. Where she wouldn't hear the words that might send her back there, to a time of terror and a time when someone hadn't handled it.

"I'm not saying you can't," Grey assured him. "Look, what happened here. Compared to seven years ago this was nothing. Seeing Daniel seemed to throw her back to that night. It took two hours for me to settle her down that first time, over an hour of screaming, non-stop." Grey couldn't suppress the shudder that went through him at that memory before he continued. "One more before the shaking stopped. If she goes back to that, can you handle it?"

Callen nodded. "Yes. I'm not going to run from her."

Callen saw Grey relax just a little as he was obviously convinced that he was telling the truth.

"Good, but if you get the slightest feeling that you might need help, you call me. Marcus has his bike; we can be there in about five minutes."

"I'll be fine. We'll be fine." Callen assured them. But Grey shook his head and continued to explain.

"Callen I … I needed help back then. I didn't feel like I could handle it but I didn't have a choice. I couldn't call anyone because she wouldn't let me go. Her grip didn't loosen for that first hour. I had bruises for over two weeks where she held on. This isn't a matter of being fine."

Callen put his hand on Grey's shoulder. "I'm not Daniel. I won't leave her. The real question is whether you want to come and stay anyway."

Grey looked over at Annabel. As much as he wanted to, he had a feeling now was going to be a big test for both of them. For him, it was stepping back, letting someone else take care of her.

_Maybe she'll talk to him. She won't if I'm there. _Grey shook his head. "I won't stay." He looked back to Callen. "She responded to you better than any of us tonight. She needs you."

"Then let's take her home," Callen said.

"G?"

Callen turned to Sam. "I'll be fine, Sam."

"We're just upstairs if you need us."

And just like the night back in Washington, Sam made it clear to Callen that he was there for both of them.

Together they moved back to Annabel. Callen picked her up out of Marcus' arms and carried her out the door, leaving Marcus, Kensi, Sam and Ric watching them with concern in all their eyes as they left.

The drive back to Annabel's apartment was done mostly in silence, broken only by Callen's soft reassuring words that he murmured to her to help keep her calm; to help her remember that he was with her, that she wasn't alone. Annabel was curled up against Callen in the back seat. He held her tight and Grey drove carefully. Seat-belts weren't in the equation. She needed to feel safe in an entirely different way.

Grey spoke quietly to the Concierge at the apartment, collected Annabel's key and led the way, as Callen carried Annabel. She'd tried to stand when they got out of the car but hadn't been able to very well, her body still shaking, her strength focused elsewhere as she fought not to let the nightmare win, fought to stay in the present not slip back to the past. When they walked into her apartment Callen headed straight for the bedroom but she shook her head and whispered, "No." He backtracked and sat down on the couch with her, keeping her in his arms. Grey came down to look her in the eyes.

"If you want me to come, get Callen to call," he said gently to her.

Annabel nodded and tried to smile. Grey kissed her on the cheek. "I'll come by in the morning and check on you."

Grey looked at Callen and nodded. He stood and left, glancing back before he closed the apartment door and left them alone.

They sat on the couch for who knew how long before she stopped shaking and moved her head to look at him.

Callen reached out and put a finger over her lips before she could say anything.

"I'm not him. You can tell me anything. I'm not going to run and leave. I'm here. I'm staying."

Annabel nodded and let out a shaky breath as she put her head back on his shoulder, his arms going back around her.

Callen waited patiently, hoping she would talk to him. He didn't know whether she would tell him what had happened back then. He remembered the flash of terror over hers and Hetty's faces when they told him their story, the little of it they did. He could still hear her screams from earlier tonight and narrowly held back a shudder at the thought of what could bring that kind of scream out in someone.

"It hurt, so much." Annabel's voice was so soft that Callen was only just able to make out the words.

Callen wasn't entirely sure whether she was talking about the torture or Daniel leaving, so he didn't say anything, just waited, whilst gently rubbing his fingers in circles where they rested on her arm and back.

"I don't even know how he did it. He just sat there flicking a switch, watching my reaction, writing it down, waiting and doing it again and again." Her voice hitched on the last few words and a violent shudder went through her.

Not Daniel. Callen remembered she had said that she hadn't even told Grey. He wanted to encourage her but not distract her and was trying to figure out how to do that when she spoke again.

"Grey said we were only separated for about eight hours. It felt like so much longer. Every flick of the switch felt like a lifetime even though I knew it wasn't. He didn't even ask me for any information, just looked at me and waited; like he was waiting for me to offer up everything to make it stop. But he never spoke. I never heard his voice. But I'll never forget his face."

Callen knew that feeling, he wished he didn't. Wished she didn't.

"It burned. Felt like fire, but so much hotter than you could imagine, running through my veins."

Annabel started to lose control of her breathing again. She fought to regain it, and Callen stroked her back, whispered reassuring words softly near her ear and waited.

"Then it burned again, but it was like ice, freezing cold and inside too. Fire to ice. Burning heat to burning cold."

Callen felt the tears seeping through his shirt where her head rested on his shoulder as she continued.

"Then I would be drowning, fighting to breathe and just as I felt like it was the end, that I was about to die, it stopped. Burning. Freezing. Drowning. Then it would start all over again, around and around he went. Sometimes it would feel like forever, sometimes just a flash of it, no more than a few seconds. And he enjoyed it. I could see his face, he was enjoying it."

She choked back a sob and Callen tightened his arms around her.

"The worst part," she started.

Callen couldn't imagine what was worse than what she had just tried to describe to him. And he knew that the words she had said, whilst evoking horrible images, weren't near enough to the reality of what she had been through. He knew that. He knew what it was like to try and describe in words the horrors that could happen; knew that even though the person listening knew from your description that it was bad, they didn't know anywhere near the half of it.

"The worst part was when it was over, when I was home and safe. Looking in the mirror and seeing nothing, not a sign that I'd been through that. How can someone do all that and not leave a mark? What kind of monster knows how to make someone burn like that? Because there was no mark, no nothing from what he did. There were the injuries from being caught, there were the medical signs I'd been through hell but he left nothing behind for me to see. Nothing on the outside to show me that it had been real. And seeing nothing, I couldn't help but think that maybe I dreamt it all; that it was just in my head. That I was going crazy."

Callen couldn't stay silent anymore. He gently caught her face in one of his hands and tilted it so she was looking at him.

"You weren't going crazy. You aren't going crazy. It happened. That's not something you could make up."

"I know. But if I didn't have Grey to tell me what he knew, what he had felt." The look on Callen's face stopped her for a moment. She shook her head. "Grey didn't feel it like I did; he just felt that I was in a lot of pain. He knew it was really bad. But if I didn't have that, I think I would have gone crazy. I don't think I would have survived what was going on in my head."

Callen was confused. "Why didn't you tell Grey any of this? He would have understood."

She tried to pull away but Callen kept her right where she was. She looked at him and the tears fell again.

"How could I? He knew what it was like to lose me, when I died on that table."

"What?" The word came out in a shocked whisper from his lips as he froze again.

"I died, Callen. Just after Grey found me. I don't know how long it had been but I'd been drifting in a dark place, between hanging on and letting go, then Grey was there. I just couldn't hold on any longer, I wanted him to go, to save himself and Shawn. But he didn't. He and Shawn, they found some adrenaline, gave me a shot and got my heart going again."

"Your heart stopped briefly. You did not die." Callen didn't want to even think about the possibility that she had died, even for a moment.

"I died, Callen. I know I did. I saw Tom. He was sad, shaking his head. Then he was gone and it was just the darkness again. When I woke up it was a week later."

Annabel tried to figure out how to explain the rest to Callen; why she hadn't told Grey. She'd never had to put it in words before.

"I couldn't tell Grey about the nightmares or what had been done to me. Before they started I wasn't ready to talk about what had happened. But once they did, there was just no way I could."

"Why not?" Callen asked gently.

"Because if I told him about the nightmares, I'd end up telling him how, when they were happening, all I wanted to do was die, to escape and never have to deal with it again. How could I tell him that what I wanted most was something that would cause him so much pain for so long? How could I tell him that?"

She curled back up into his shoulder and Callen wrapped his arms back around her.

"He'd understand. You know he would."

"Understand, yes I know he would. But I can't hurt him like that. He was so willing to give up everything to save me. He came back alone to find me. He didn't wait for help. He risked everything. If I told him that ... I never want him to feel like I didn't appreciate what he did, what he was willing to do to save me. That scar on his face is a reminder of how much he loves me. He got that then."

Callen understood. How many times had he kept things to himself, things that would hurt others? He'd kept so much about his life back from his team. They didn't know a lot of the things he had done and he didn't want them to know what he was capable of doing. It was one thing for them to think he could do certain things, but another for them to actually have it confirmed.

Callen tilted her face to him again.

"You know Grey wouldn't think that." He looked into her eyes. "He loves you. And it was just whilst they were happening. Not like it was all the time, right?"

"Not all the time," Annabel agreed.

"What about this time?" Callen asked. "Did you still feel that way?"

Annabel stared at him for a moment. "No. I didn't," she answered softly, like it was a revelation to her. "I just wanted it to stop, to come back."

Callen reached up and stroked her cheek to brush away a lingering tear as he wondered, hoped even, that the change had to do with him. A soft look came over her face and her eyes fluttered closed, only to fly open and she was all tense again.

Callen frowned. "What happened?"

"I can still see him, when I close my eyes. That took weeks to stop last time."

The tears filled her eyes again and her breathing kicked up a notch.

"How did you stop it? How did you sleep?"

"Sometimes I was just so tired, that I'd be asleep almost before my eyes closed. Sometimes I had to resort to sleeping pills, but only when the doctors made me, and then there were the times when I'd managed to forget for little while and I could fall asleep. If I'd watched a movie or had done something fun. But the nightmares, they were every night for three months before I started to get some peaceful sleep in between."

Callen could tell that she was scared that was going to happen again.

"Help me forget," Annabel begged with a whispered voice as her head moved close to his and her eyes darted from his to his lips and back.

Forget. That was something Callen wished he could do. For her and for himself. Except he knew forgetting was almost impossible. But he could do something else for her. Callen pulled back before she could kiss him.

"So you need to be exhausted and distracted," Callen confirmed. He knew what she was wanting and knew that it would definitely take her mind of things. But he wasn't sure so maybe he should just suggest a movie. Something flickered in Annabel's eyes, and she looked at him curious and hopeful.

"What do you have in mind?" Her voice was soft and no longer completely filled with pain. A smile twitched at his lips. She definitely seemed interested in continuing in the direction she'd started on.

"We could watch a movie. You seem to have plenty to choose from." He'd let her lead the way, just in case he was reading things wrong. If she still wanted that, he'd be happy to comply.

Annabel shook her head. "You weren't thinking that."

"I can't help you forget. I wish I could. But I can try to give you something to remember - something else to see when you close your eyes. Something to block him out." Callen's hands ran up her back, over her arm.

Annabel's heart started racing, her skin started to heat, in a way that was delightful, as the memories of her nightmare slipped to the background, and others, in particular her birthday, fought their way to the front. "Tell me your plan. Definitely sounds like something I haven't tried before." Her fingers went to the bottom of his shirt and slipped it up and off quickly.

Callen smiled. "Don't think you need me explaining. You seem to have a good idea already."

Carefully, Callen moved Annabel off his lap and stood up. He reached for her hand, pleased to see she was able to stand up herself and led her to the bedroom. Pulling her in front of the mirror he stood behind her, his fingers running over her shoulder and arm as he looked at their reflection and held her gaze in the mirror. "You close your eyes I stop. When we're done, all you'll see when you close them is you and me."

And so, keeping her looking at him or at them, he made her forget everything except the way they felt together; the heat, the softness, the hardness of them. They moved together, touched each other, and explored each other. Raising temperatures and heart rates in a good way, finding what pleased the other the most, all the time watching each other, burning a different picture into her mind. A picture that was so intimate, wonderful and intense that it was strong enough to keep the nightmare image away. He watched her carefully as he finally let her go over the edge after pushing her so close so many times; watched as she held his gaze and he saw all the desire, the need and the love in her eyes as she did. That look took him with her just moments later, once he knew that there was no pain or terror left in her eyes; that she was totally consumed by them.

Annabel watched him as he let go, amazed at how giving he was, in awe of the feelings and the sensations he had brought out in her. As the tremors slowed down in both their bodies, she lent down and finally kissed his lips, both their eyes drifting closed. When she raised her head she looked at him and smiled. "Thank you."

Callen reached up and slipped a hand around her neck curling his fingers into her hair. "What did you see?"

"You ... me ... us. Just like you intended."

"Good." He pulled her down to lie on top of him for a few minutes, holding her there, perfectly aligned together. Annabel lifted her head and looked at his face for a moment before she spoke.

"Callen I ..." She didn't know if he was ready for this, but she wanted to tell him. She needed to. But at the same time she didn't want to scare him off. It had been so long since she'd said it. She closed her eyes, gathering courage from the image there.

"Annabel." Her eyes opened to look at him. "I love you," he said.

Her breath caught and her heart skipped a beat and she completely lost her ability to speak for a minute.

Callen smiled at her reaction. He thought that she was about to say it, had caught a glimpse of nervousness and wondered if she was scared that he didn't feel the same. So, he'd taken the initiative having found the opportunity he'd been wondering about earlier tonight.

Finally her voice came back. "I love you too. I don't know when it happened, but in the alley, I knew then."

"Took your time telling me," Callen teased gently.

"I ... I didn't want to scare you off. I'd only known you a few days."

"You can live a lifetime in few days. I don't know when either. But when ..." Callen trailed off, not sure he wanted to bring up what had happened with Mitch. It was that moment when Mitch had stamped on her shoulder, the emotions that had slammed through him, and he'd known for sure then.

"Doesn't really matter does it?" she asked. "We both know now."

"We do. Now you need some sleep."

"Actually, I could do with a shower." Annabel smiled cheekily. "I wasn't expecting such a workout tonight."

Callen chuckled and she felt the gentle vibrations through her. "Want company?" he asked.

"Well, I have had some problems standing tonight. Could be a sensible idea." Annabel moved off him and together they moved to the bathroom.

Later, she fell asleep easily, her head on his chest, their bodies curled up and entwined together. He stroked her hair and listened carefully to her breathing. He didn't sleep much that night. Mostly he drifted, part of him in tune with her and at the slightest hiccup in her breathing or sound, he was alert; ready to respond, just in case. Whilst there were a couple of brief moments of concern, no nightmares struck her and she barely moved from her position on his chest.

It was around six am when Callen was driven out of bed by his stomach rumbling. He didn't want to wake her so he carefully moved her onto the pillows and slipped out of bed to get something to eat. He was just buttering some toast when he heard the apartment door open and, having gotten used to the security of the complex, his mind quickly figured that it was probably Grey. He'd mentioned that he was going to stop by this morning though Callen had to admit he wasn't expecting it to be this early. As he watched, Grey and Marcus came quietly through the door and he felt the small amount of tension that had risen at the sound slip away.

"How is she?" Grey asked softly, his gaze going from the hallway back to Callen.

"Sleeping," Callen answered, moving toward them.

"How did it go last night?" Marcus asked.

"Good, she talked. No more attacks, no nightmares."

Callen heard the sighs of relief from the two men. "You're here pretty early," Callen remarked.

"Taking Marcus to the airport, he didn't want to go without checking on her. Be back in a minute." Grey slipped quietly down the hall to the bathroom. Marcus eyed Callen off and Callen knew the warning was coming. That this time it would be much clearer.

"I like you Callen," Marcus admitted. "I like how you are with her, especially how you handled things last night at the bar."

Callen wasn't entirely sure if Marcus was referring to his actions with Daniel or Annabel, but he took a guess it was mostly Annabel with a little Daniel thrown in for good measure.

"And," Marcus continued, "I know this thing between you and her has had a ... different start than most relationships. So here's the deal." It impressed Callen that Marcus wasn't afraid to look him in the eye as he spoke. "You hurt her in any way that is out of the ordinary for a relationship that just doesn't work out and I will make you pay. I won't let anyone else get away with hurting her like Daniel and Mitch have. And..." Marcus held up a hand to stop Callen from saying anything until he was finished. "I also promise that I won't go after anyone else to get to you. It'll just be between you and me. I'm not like Mitch."

"How does she do it?" Callen asked him. He did wonder just how much Marcus knew about what was going on, given his comment just now. Perhaps Grey had finally filled him in on everything.

"What?" Marcus asked, a tad confused.

"Make us willing to defend her, do anything for her without even asking or expecting it?"

Marcus chuckled. "Welcome to the club. It's a hell of ride loving AJ Robinson."

"AJ?"

"You try saying her full name, especially when you are trying to be mad at her, just doesn't work. By the time Annabel Jane Robinson or Annabel Jane Mason gets off your tongue, it's too soft to follow up with anything stern."

"So?" Callen prompted still waiting for him to actually answer his previous question.

A soft look went over Marcus' face as he answered, "She gives you everything. Hard not to respond to that."

Callen knew that he was right.

"She said learned that from Tom," Callen said as he took a bite of his toast. Marcus shook his head.

"You've met Pen and Nic. She's just like them. It's just her. Tom showed it to her from someone outside the family, that's all. But it's always been who she is."

There was a moment of silence between the two men and Grey returned before anything more could be said.

"So, you're sure she's okay?" Marcus asked once again.

"I'm fine," came Annabel's voice as she stepped out of the hallway to join them, wrapped in a robe.

Grey stepped over and she moved into his embrace. They stood silently together for a moment before Annabel stepped back and smiled at her brother and Marcus.

"Thanks for checking on me. And for last night."

Marcus moved in this time, tilted her face up and examined it carefully. He smiled down at her. "He does good work." There was a blush on Annabel's cheeks that Marcus was tempted to tease about, but he didn't.

"Sorry I messed up last night," she said softly.

There was a slight frown on her face that Marcus wanted to take away so he gently teased her, successfully bringing out a small smile on her face. "You didn't, you were always going to take him home early anyway."

Annabel's eyes narrowed as she tried to remember something. Something about last night. She couldn't put her finger on it, so she shook it off and a teasing expression flickered on her face.

"You've been on a date. And sometime soon, I am going to find out with whom. For now though, before you run away to the plane, please answer one question for me."

"Depends on the question," Marcus replied as he eyed her suspiciously.

"Does she make you happy?"

Marcus smiled and nodded. "So far, yes."

Annabel slipped her arms around him and hugged him. "Good." She didn't say anything more.

Marcus started to shake a little as he chuckled.

"God you're good. It's only been three dates. She's very different to my usual interests, she's a lot of fun and she's definitely not blonde. You like her."

Annabel looked up and smiled, trying not to look too pleased at how easy that had been. "Thank you."

She moved away and stepped over to Callen. "Eating without me?"

Callen smiled. "You were asleep. Didn't want to wake you." He offered her a piece of toast and she took it with a smile.

"We've got to get going, Bel. Marcus has to be at the airport in an hour."

Annabel and Callen followed them to the door. After a couple more goodbye hugs they left, much more reassured about Annabel's state, both physical and emotional, than they had been before.

Annabel turned and faced Callen. She smiled. "Did they behave?"

"Yes."

Suddenly it hit Annabel what she couldn't place from last night. "The boxes. We were supposed to go back and-"

Callen kissed her to stop her. Just briefly but it was enough. "Don't worry about it. We had something more important to do last night."

Annabel's look softened, the worry going out of her eyes easily. "Then how about we have some more breakfast and go in early? My turn to be there for you."

Callen smiled. "Sounds good."


	42. Chapter 42

_A/N - Thanks again for the support and reviews. The busy times of Christmas and New Year have settled down, so fingers crossed the posting speed will pick up a little. _

_Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

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**Chapter 42**

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They were at the office by seven thirty. Callen continued going through his box meticulously. He still didn't have a picture of what they wanted him for, but he wasn't too worried. Sometimes that didn't happen until he had all the information. Finally he moved onto the second box, still continuing through mission files, though they were now somewhat recent.

Callen glanced at Annabel and saw her staring at her box, the lid still on. He wondered how long she'd been doing that for. Putting down the file that was in his hand, he moved closer to her side.

"You okay?"

Annabel looked up, slightly startled. She shook her head and looked back at her box. "I don't know if ... After last night, I..." she trailed off, not entirely sure how to phrase her fears.

"You don't want something to set you off again," Callen concluded.

"That obvious?" Annabel turned away from the box toward him. "I've got a rough idea of what's going to be in there. Anything to do with Hetty and I. Most likely things to do with Zoe. Those I'm pretty sure of. Those... I don't know if I can handle those right now."

"Do you want me to check for you?"

She smiled slightly at him. "Does that make me seem like a wimp?"

Callen smiled back and shook his head. "No, it makes you seem like someone who, for once, is considering protecting herself."

Annabel chuckled softly. "I do think you know, about things before I take risks. Before I put myself out there."

"I'm sure you do, but you think more about everyone else than yourself."

"It's part of my job," she said, brushing off the compliment as if it was nothing.

"No," Callen disagreed, "it's part of you. Now, I can check your box, or someone else can, but for now, I'm not letting you touch it." If she was already worried that it could cause her grief, then he would protect her from that. "Not putting you in a situation where a repeat of last night could happen," he added.

Annabel's lips twitched and her eyes sparkled just a little, as she focused on the good part of last night. "You didn't enjoy yourself last night?"

Callen moved closer, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You know what I mean," he said seriously, before his voice softened and he smiled as he continued. "And you know how much I enjoyed the end of last night."

Annabel leaned forward and brushed a light kiss across his lips. "I know. Thank you. If you could go through it that would be great."

Callen moved away and reached for her box. Annabel's hand stopped him. "When you're done with yours."

"I'll have a quick look, see if there is anything that needs closer inspection, then I'll go back to mine."

After a moment, Annabel nodded and let go of his arm before she stood up and walked to the window. She wasn't she could handle the temptation of being near it whilst Callen looked through it. She wanted to know what was in there, but she knew she wasn't anywhere near ready to handle the possibilities.

Callen lifted the lid and looked inside, hoping that he'd be able to tell what was what easily. He was. The information in there was tied up with rubber bands and a sheet of paper labelled in front. Zoe. That was on the top. He flicked through the papers, without taking the band off; his eyes quickly scanning what he could see. Halfway through he stopped and frowned, before he looked a little closer. This needed to go to Graham. It had all the information about Zoe, looked like it was the real file from the doctor. She definitely shouldn't be seeing this.

Callen delved further. There were reports on five missions. Right again, these were the ones they had done with Hetty. He didn't look too closely at them though. The next was general information about Annabel, nothing a standard background check wouldn't pull up.

Behind that was something else she wouldn't want to see. The psychologist's report and notes from her sessions. Callen flicked through it, just to confirm what it was. He didn't read it. Annabel had told him what she could last night and if she wanted him to know more then she would be the one to tell him. He frowned, wondering just how many people Mitch had blackmailed in relation to her, because this file should have been confidential to the doctor, not even available to her boss. Underneath that was the information related to that mission. Tempting as it was, to find out what had happened to her and Hetty, he left that alone. Annabel trusted him to do this and he wouldn't do anything to destroy that, with either her or Hetty. Callen put everything back in the box and the lid back on before he moved over to join her by the window.

"Hey." His voice was low and gentle as he slipped his arms around her waist. Callen felt her lean back against him and could feel the tension in her.

"Anything of interest?" Annabel asked.

"Not in the box," Callen said suggestively in her ear. She was so tense. She laughed at his comment and he felt her relax before he continued. "Graham needs to go through your box. You don't, but he does."

Annabel nodded. "Okay. I'll let him know. Thank you." She turned in his arms and put her head down on his shoulder, slipped one arm around him - she had remembered the sling this morning - and closed her eyes. She took a few deep breaths and was about to lift her head when she heard the door open behind them.

"You two are in early," came Sam's voice.

They both turned. Kensi was looking at Annabel, concern evident on her face.

Annabel smiled. "I'm okay. Sorry about ..." she trailed off when Kensi and Sam both shook their heads.

"Just glad you are okay," Kensi said.

Annabel nodded and they moved back to the boxes. Annabel was about to sit down, but after glancing at the box, she changed her mind. She looked at Callen. "I'm going to see Graham about this. Get it out here."

Callen nodded and his eyes followed her as she left the room.

"G?" Sam asked. The question was unspoken but Callen knew Sam was concerned.

"Did Hetty tell you about when she met Annabel?" Callen asked as he turned back to them.

Sam nodded, the look on his face conveying to Callen that Sam knew how bad it had been.

Kensi shook her head. "Grey just told me that he almost lost Annabel, a rescue mission gone wrong, and they found Hetty as well."

"It was a bit more than that Kenz," Sam said. His serious tone caused Kensi to face him as he continued. "Hetty was being 'questioned'. That was how she phrased it anyway."

"Questioned? As in..." Kensi trailed off not sure if she wanted the answer or not.

"Yeah. Annabel too," replied Callen.

"Last night?" Kensi asked looking back to Callen.

"Annabel's reaction to remembering her time there and what he did to her. As for Daniel, he was an ex-boyfriend," Callen stopped when Kensi nodded.

"Marcus told me a little last night after you took her home. He left in the middle of a nightmare. She'd mentioned something like that to me back in Washington, when you had yours, about not wanting to leave you because someone had done that to her."

Callen nodded. That would explain why she had still be there, why she had said she wouldn't leave and why there had been concern and not the fear on her face that he had been expecting. "She hadn't seen him since. It threw her right back to then."

"Did she -"

Callen shook his head, answering the question he was sure that Kensi was about to ask.

"No, she didn't have anymore. No nightmares either."

"Good," Kensi said. When no one else said anything more about last night, Kensi asked, "What about your box? Anything good in there?"

"Not sure yet," Callen said as he looked at the paperwork surrounding him on the table. "Mission files, been trying to figure out what they want from me. Still got more to go."

"Any idea what's in Hetty's or Annabel's?" Sam asked.

"Hetty's no. Annabel's. Mostly just her connection with Hetty and the jobs they did together; that first mission and things about Zoe. She couldn't look through it, so I did."

"Do you want a hand with yours?" Sam asked.

Callen nodded and handed over some of the files he'd already been through to them. "Have another look through these mission ones, see if you can find any connection between them."

There wasn't anything in them that would horrify them or tell them anything about him that they didn't already know or suspect and since they didn't know what was in the files they might actually spot something, fresh minds etc.

They all sat and continued pushing through the files. Eric and Cara joined them a little later.

"You two have fun?" Sam asked as they walked in.

Eric groaned and Cara laughed outright; a light, bright tinkling laugh that was just like her.

"Sam, never underestimate a girl who knows her way around a computer better than me." Eric's gaze slid to the grinning Cara and he fought not to return it as he continued; a mock frown on his face. "They're devious little creatures," Eric replied as they sat down at the computer.

"Lost did you?" Annabel asked as she walked back into the room with Graham.

"Lost?" Eric rolled his eyes. "Lost would like saying the Sahara is a sandpit and just a little bit dry."

Annabel smiled. "Sorry Eric. We didn't think about warning you."

Eric shrugged. "It was fun, in an odd demoralising way. At least I got something out of it. She taught me a few new tricks that will come in handy."

Graham stepped over to Annabel's box. "Thank you Agent Callen, for going through this for her," he said as he picked it up.

Callen nodded.

"Let me know if you find anything. Hetty and I will be going through this in my office this morning if you need us."

Graham left and Annabel came to sit back down next to Callen. He glanced over at her to make sure she was okay. She seemed more relaxed now the box was gone.

"You up for this?" Callen asked, concerned. He wasn't sure if he should send her home for some more sleep. Last night had to be draining for her, emotionally as well as physically. He remembered how he'd felt after some of his more difficult nightmares.

"If you want me to. I'm okay, really," Annabel assured him having noticed the concern.

Callen reached into the box and pulled out the next file. As he did, he glanced in and realised he was through the mission files and now it was other things. He pulled everything left in the box and put it on the table in front of them, placing the box on the floor out of the way.

"Don't know what any of this is," Callen said with a slight frown. "Everything else has been work files." He picked up some papers; the writing looked familiar. It was a photocopy of the address book of where he had lived until he was eighteen. He split the pile between the two of them. "You start with these."

Annabel moved closer and started going through hers whilst Callen turned back to his pile. School records, birth certificate, reports from Child services, his police record, birth certificate, military application ... Wait, two birth certificates. Callen looked carefully at them both. G Callen. Gregory Young. He frowned. According to Graham, Gregory Young was what the CIA knew but no one else. Did that mean-

"Callen, who's Jody Stuart?" Annabel asked.

Callen pulled his attention from the birth certificates in his hand.

"Who?" he asked absently, still focused on the papers he held. Annabel handed him a piece of paper; another birth certificate.

Callen frowned as he looked over the details but he'd never heard of a Jody Stuart. "I don't know." He kept looking at it though, instinct making him go over it again. The mother was a sixteen year old girl. He was about to hand it back, thinking it must have been a mistake, when something registered in his mind and he looked at the midwife's name. Corine. Wasn't that the name of one of The Twelve?

Callen looked at Annabel. "Anything else on her?"

Annabel moved the papers in front of her around quickly as she searched. "Wait ... here. Adoption papers. Jody Stuart was adopted by Henry and Patricia Maxwell."

Sam and Kensi were now watching them. Callen pushed his pile of papers over to them.

"Jody Stuart or Maxwell, Patrica or Henry Maxwell." Callen glanced at Jody's birth certificate. "Emmaline Stuart. Louis Jackson. See if you can find anything on them in there." Callen started working through the rest of the pile with Annabel.

They managed to find more. Henry and Patricia Maxwell died when Jody was twelve. They'd left enough money that instead of her going into foster care, she was put in an exclusive boarding school until she was kicked out at fifteen, pregnant. There was a birth certificate extract for a Bianca Maxwell. Father not listed.

Callen had Eric start tracking them down, trying to find out where they were now whilst they kept going through the rest of the information. There was a buzz running through him, like they were onto something. Surely these wouldn't have been in his file by mistake. One piece yes, but not all of this.

Callen took a copy of the birth certificate of Jody and his as G Callen and Gregory Young to Hetty and Graham. He knocked on the closed office door and went in when called.

"Think I might have something that connects this to The Twelve."

Hetty and Graham's faces lit up with obvious interest.

"What?" Graham asked standing up and moving toward Callen.

Callen handed him the birth certificates and pointed to the name at the bottom of Jody's. "Corine. Wasn't that the name of ones who died recently?"

"Yes," Graham said softly. "That's her. She was practicing as a midwife. She had the training of a doctor, just not the registration. She went into that line of work after the attack. We helped set up her records so she could."

"And me," Callen said, indicating the other birth certificate, "As the CIA knew of me."

Graham looked up from the paperwork. "This is good."

Graham's tone was lighter than Callen had heard it in the entire time he'd known him.

"This is all we need," Graham continued. "This connects Mitch to The Twelve. The others will have to help now. Is there anything else?"

"We're still working on it. We'll let you know. These are the only connections we've noticed so far."

Relief settled on him that finally they had something concrete, something that would help them get the resources to find whoever was behind all of this. Callen returned to the conference room, a slight spring in his step. When he arrived back, the others were gathered around Eric at the computer.

"What have you got, Eric?" Callen asked as he went to join them.

"Not sure." Eric looked up at him briefly. "From the time Bianca was three, there is nothing on her. Nothing on Jody either from that point. They seem to have disappeared. Trying to run down addresses and also see if facial recognition gets anything on Jody. She had a driver's license so might be able to match up something."

"You sure she didn't die?" Callen asked, fighting the disappointment that this might be another dead end.

"She didn't anything. She just stopped."

"Like she would if she had changed lives," Sam pointed out.

With that, the disappointment Callen felt disappeared and the hope grew. Disappearing meant there was still a chance.

"She hasn't touched a cent of what was left of her inheritance since then either," Eric added.

Annabel moved from the computer and sat back down, continuing going through the papers. Callen joined her and picked up one of the piles of papers that was stapled together; his school reports. He flicked through them and as he did an envelope fell out. He reached out for it and frowned as he opened it. Another birth certificate fell out. Mary Baker. Callen stood up and took it to Eric. "What about her?"

Eric started running a check whilst he waited as patiently as he could.

Callen's mind was whirling, trying to figure out some connection. But Mary Baker was a name he hadn't come across so he had nothing for his thoughts to settle on.

"She's alive," Eric piped up. "Living in San Diego. Married to Owen Baker and ... has a child, Grace... who matches up age wise with Bianca."

"You think they could be the same?" Kensi queried.

"Facial recognition, Eric. Do they match with that?" Callen asked, a touch impatiently.

"Working on it, just give me a sec." Eric typed away and then there was a pause as they waited for the results. A nervous, slightly excited and hopeful tension settling over the occupants of the room.

"It's a match." There was slight disbelief in Eric's tone. "From this it looks like Jody Stuart is Mary Baker."

"Find out everything you can Eric." Callen turned to Annabel. "Can you pack up all of that? We'll take it with us. Looks like we've got a plane to catch."

With that, Callen left to find Hetty. They had a lead. But there was a knot in his stomach. Someone else had this before them. If it was the someone who was looking for him, could they be looking for her too? He didn't know the connection yet, but if Jody/Mary's information was in his file, someone else had made a connection and he felt they didn't have any time to lose.

By the time Callen returned, the files were packed, Eric and Cara were running final searches and putting everything he could find onto his computer and everyone else was ready to go. Grey was going to come back and pick Eric up, Kensi and Sam would take care of packing for him, giving him more time to download information. Grey would meet the rest of them at the airport in an hour and a half with Hetty and Eric. They went back to their respective apartments, packed quickly and left in the car that had been arranged to take them to the airport. This time Callen had no objection to the private plane. They were in the air just after lunch; just over two hours after he had told Hetty they needed to go home.

Callen pulled out his box and started going through the personal information all over again. They all did. Eric poured over what was on his computer, the rest focused on the paperwork.

After a little while, Callen sat back with a groan. He couldn't find anything to connect him to Mary/Jody or Grace/Bianca. He looked around at them all, his family, trying so hard to find something for him to go on. His gaze fell on Annabel; she was frowning and looked serious and confused.

"What is it?" Callen asked as he lent closer to her.

Annabel shook her head. "I don't know." Her tone held the same seriousness and confusion as her look. "There's something here," she said. "I know it. I can feel it. It's little, it's subtle, but it's there. I just can't put my finger on it." It was what she was good at, subtle, and she was glad that she was noticing something, but this was the part of that talent that was most frustrating. When that something was just out of reach.

Annabel looked up at them all. "Okay, help please. There is something here. Jody's birth certificate. Aside from the connection to The Twelve Callen has already found with Corine's name."

She read out every piece of information, slowly. They all mulled it over but nothing came to anyone. She put it down, stood up and went to get a drink. What was it? It was driving her crazy. Somehow, she knew this was connected to Callen. Maybe his parents had family, maybe she was related. Graham said there were only two children so it wasn't a sister, so maybe a cousin...The wheels turned and something clicked. She turned and went to Eric, whispered in his ear, not wanting to get anyone's hopes up. The others were going through the paperwork yet again.

Eric pulled up the information on the screen and looked at her, wide eyed.

"Thanks Eric," Annabel said and surprised the techie with a kiss on the cheek.

She sat back next to Callen and looked at him. "I think I know how Mary is connected to you. Not positive but an idea."

"How?" Callen asked.

"She may be your sister."

Everyone's eyes went from the paperwork to Annabel

"Amy died though." Now it was Callen's turn to be confused as he wondered how she had come up with this idea.

"Not Amy," Annabel said with a shake of her head. "A younger sister. Jody's birth date was eight and a half months after the attack that killed your father. Your mother disappeared off the radar four months after that. It's possible no one else knew she was pregnant at the time."

Callen stared at her. Sister? He shook his head in disbelief. Annabel continued.

"It was the date. That was what was bugging me, I just couldn't figure it out. What if your mother was pregnant? What if she gave Jody up to protect her like she was trying to protect you and Amy?"

"Wouldn't it have been better if she let them know she was having another child?" Kensi asked. "They were protecting everyone, surely that would have included the child too."

"It doesn't make sense for her to leave that protection, especially at a time when she would have needed it," Sam added his thoughts to the mix.

Callen had to agree with them. Being pregnant would have left her physically vulnerable if someone had found her. She wouldn't have been able to fight back as well.

"Unless she trusted someone else more. Corine." Hetty added her input. "Remember, they never found out who was behind the attack. Maybe she didn't feel like they could keep her safe after all and she turned to someone else. It would explain Corine's name being on the birth certificate if she had gone to them."

"But the names on it; sixteen year old girl, a seventeen year old boy. Eric, what did you find on them?" Callen asked.

After a few moments, Eric looked back to them. "The mother had no one except a great grandfather who was in his late seventies. There would have been no one to help her. The father died when she would have been a few months along."

"What happened to her?" Callen asked Eric.

"From what I was able to track down before we left the office, and I haven't fully confirmed any of this, she died at twenty one, after a robbery gone wrong. Cara was going to keep looking into it, to see if she could find anything that might hint at who they really were, if there were any discrepancies or such and let me know if she finds anything when we get back to LA."

Sister? Could she really be that? Could those records have been fake for Jody's parents? From the little that he had learned about his mother, it wouldn't have been hard for her to do it. He wished LA wasn't so far away. He needed to do something but there wasn't much else they could do until they landed and could make their way to San Diego and find her. Hopefully before anyone else did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Later, after they had put away the paperwork, were seated comfortably and about to get some sleep for a few hours before landing, Callen said quietly to Annabel, "When we get to LA, I want you to go with Hetty and Eric to the office."

Annabel's eyes went wide as his words sunk in and she realised what that meant.

"I'm not leaving you," Annabel replied with a shake of head. "You wanted me to be your bodyguard. You're stuck with me."

"I'll have Sam."

"No." Her stomach clenched at the thought of him being away from her, somewhere that she couldn't protect him. "If whoever this is, is going after them, you need -" His finger on her lips stopped her.

Callen took a deep breath before he continued. This was going to be so hard to ask her.

"I need you to help Nate. He's our psychologist. He needs to know what we're up against, to make a profile of this guy. It's all we'll have to go on to try and figure out who he is. I need you to help Nate understand what he has done to us."

If this lead with Jody/Mary fell through, it was all they would have.

"Hetty knows everything that's happened," Annabel protested.

"Hetty hasn't felt it," Callen said softly. "Nate needs to know what he is willing to do, how far he is willing to go. Not just told a story. You're the one who has taken the brunt of that."

Callen slipped his hand into her hair behind her head and pulled her close, forehead to forehead.

"Please. I know this will be hard but Nate's good. He's intuitive. You won't need to go into a lot of detail. He'll understand quickly what happened and how it hurt. If he wasn't that good I wouldn't ask you to do this."

It's also my way of keeping you safe, Callen added silently to himself. If they were going after Mary and Grace as well as him, Callen didn't want Annabel in the line of fire and whilst she was injured, it was even more important to protect her.

Annabel let out a soft sigh, closed her eyes. "You'll stay with Sam. You won't leave him, will you?"

Callen smiled in relief. "Sam always has my back. I'll be fine."

"Take Grey too."

He shook his head. "No. I need him to go with Kensi, to find Grace, whilst Sam and I find Mary."

There was silence for a moment and Callen could almost hear the internal debate in her mind. Then she moved and curled up into him.

"Fine," Annabel agreed. "But I don't like it. Be careful. Doesn't feel right."

Trying to make light of the situation Callen teased her. "You just don't want me out of your reach. You find me irresistible."

Annabel chuckled a little and Callen felt the vibrations against his chest. He smiled.

"I'm not denying that part," Annabel said lightly before her tone went serious. "It's instinct. There's something off." She looked up at him. "Please, promise me you'll be extra careful."

"I will," Callen promised her.

Annabel settled back against him and he wrapped his arms around her. He was glad they had flown private, the seats made it much easier to do this with her.

"Get some sleep," Callen whispered near her ear before he put his head back against the seat and closed his eyes, to try and do the same.


	43. Chapter 43

_A/N - Wow! 300 Reviews. That's amazing. Thanks so much for such great encouragement. As promised, things are picking up a little. I'll have a little more time to polish off the chapters that are done so hopefully that will mean two to three updates a week._

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_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

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**Chapter 43**

Nate was standing by his car waiting for the team to join him. He'd had to get some other agents to help get the two additional cars to fulfil Hetty's requirements to the airport. But now they were gone and it was just Nate waiting for his team to disembark the private plane they had arrived in. A team he hadn't seen in almost two weeks.

"So, what did I miss?" Nate asked casually as they walked over to him. He saw the two new additions and took note of the others reactions to them. There was an air of acceptance, almost like they were part of the team. Nate's attention was focused more on the blonde woman that Callen had his arm around than the tall, dark haired man next to Kensi.

"Callen's got a girlfriend," Eric replied.

"Sam's got a crush on a guy with a hot bike," Kensi added with a grin.

Sam rolled his eyes and retorted, "Kensi's been on a date or two, and she won't tell us with whom."

"Eric got his butt whipped by a girl playing computer games," Callen added. "Oh, and my mother is still alive. Possibly have a younger sister and niece too."

"And I am even more mysterious than ever. Hello Nate. Thank you for coming," Hetty supplied as she moved to the front of the group to stand next to Nate.

"Whoa, back up. One thing at a time," Nate stopped them with a wave of his hand, thoroughly confused. He decided to start from the beginning.

"Callen has a girlfriend?" Nate pointed at Callen, his eyes flicking between Callen and the blonde.

"Annabel and Grey, this is Nate, our psychologist," Callen introduced the new additions.

Annabel smiled at Nate and tried not to laugh at the confusion on his face.

"She's your girlfriend?"

"You could call it that," Callen replied. Girlfriend had a high school kind of feel to it, and this relationship was about as far from those he'd had in high school as there were years between then and now.

"Sam?" Nate turned to the big guy. He definitely had more he wanted to know about Callen and Annabel but now wasn't the time.

"Their friend," Sam tilted his head in Annabel and Grey's general direction, "Marcus, has a seriously cool bike, but I do _not_ have a crush on him."

"Kensi?"

"What?" Kensi asked, obviously not wanting to answer, her eyes darting away from Nate's intensely curious look.

"She managed to find a guy when we were in a new city, didn't have time to go out anywhere and by day two she had a date," Callen answered for her with a grin as she glared at him.

"With?" Nate asked.

"Marcus," Annabel stated to the shock of everyone, especially Kensi.

"How did you- " Kensi managed to stop her spluttering but it was too late by then.

"Marcus?" Callen asked surprised. He looked at Annabel. "When did you figure that out?"

"This morning, at home. Everything slipped into place."

Marcus' comment 'You like her' was the piece of the puzzle that had made everything clear. It meant that she knew whoever it was and for some reason everything else just fitted. Kensi's reaction now had just been additional confirmation.

Callen looked over at Kensi, raised his eyebrows and one side of his mouth tilted in a lopsided grin at the blush. "So, how many Kenz? Just the one?"

"Three," Kensi mumbled.

There was silence for a moment as it sunk in that Kensi had been on three dates with Marcus. Callen knew that he would be having an interesting conversation with Kensi soon about how that had happened, considering as far as he knew it was only supposed to be one, maybe two if drinks and dinner counted separately.

"Eric?" Nate continued.

Eric shrugged. "I didn't know Cara could play so well. No big deal. She was too good. This time."

"Gonna be another time is there?" Sam asked.

"The Internet is a wonderful thing, Sam," Eric said with a grin.

"Mother? Sister?" Nate asked looking back to Callen.

"I'll let Hetty, Eric and Annabel fill you in on everything back at the office. We need to get going."

It was just past five pm and it was a long drive down to San Diego.

"You take them with you, Nate," Callen continued. "Sam, Kensi, Grey and I are going to try and find them. We'll see you soon."

Callen turned to Annabel. "Be good. Nate's a good guy, if you want to talk to him," he assured her softly.

"Be careful," Annabel reminded him as she stepped closer and put an arm around him. "Stay with Sam."

Callen pulled her closer. "Sam has my back. You know that."

With a quick, soft yet meaningful kiss, Callen stepped away. Halfway to the car, he stopped and turned to Nate and said, "Nate, need your phone, unless you brought us one," before he continued to his car.

Nate, kicking himself for not thinking about extra phones, pulled out his and handed it to Sam as he came past him on the way to the car to join Callen.

"Thanks Doc," Sam said as Callen slipped into his car and started it. Sam only just managed to get the door closed before Callen started to pull away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

"All right Hetty, I've had some time off. Fill me in," Nate said as he sat down across from Hetty at her desk once they were back in the office. The car ride had been fairly quiet, Hetty claiming it would be better for Nate not to be distracted by driving whilst they had the conversation. Eric and Annabel had now retreated to the Ops Centre upstairs to download the information Eric had brought back with them and to contact Cara to see what else she had come up with.

"Did you have a good time?" Hetty asked conversationally, as she sat down at her desk after getting the tea brewing.

Nate, resigned to Hetty wanting to know about his days off, filled her in quickly.

"Yes. I took my nieces to Disneyland for a couple of days and then went up to the mountains for a bit of peace and quiet. Then I came back to the office and am waiting patiently for you to fill me in on what the hell is going on."

Nate looked sternly at Hetty, a look he wouldn't have had the courage to do before she had thrown him in the deep end by leaving him in charge. She owed him and Nate was intent on collecting.

"Very well. Tea?"

"Hetty," Nate warned.

Hetty chuckled, much to Nate's shock, and then she turned around to look at him. "You've taken to the power position quite well Nate."

Nate raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything. Hetty stood up and poured the tea for them both as she started telling him the story; everything that the others already knew.

When she had finished Nate was staring at her, stunned.

"Spies?"

Hetty nodded.

"Still alive? Are you sure?"

Hetty nodded again. "As sure as we can be at this point."

"And whoever is after Callen is connected to that?"

"The evidence appears to suggest a connection."

Hetty looked at Nate and realised that he had matured in a way over the last week or so. Whilst he had been shocked at the revelations, as had they all, he was actually handling this better than she thought. Almost agent like in his questions rather than psychologist based.

"Annabel and Grey? Why did you trust them?" Nate asked.

Though the psychologist was still definitely in there.

"Because I do. Now, that story is not for this time. Perhaps another," Hetty replied firmly. "However, Mr Callen has asked for you to profile the person who is after him. He feels Annabel can help you understand just how far the man is willing to go. Please Nate, be very careful with her. There are other things that have happened recently, that do not relate to this, that have made her more fragile than I have ever seen her." The others had filled her in on Annabel's panic from her run in with Daniel. Hetty had remembered Daniel from the hospital and not in a good light.

"I'm happy to speak with her and I will be gentle, but I don't think I need to, Hetty."

Nate rarely heard that kind of compassionate plea from Hetty and understood that she knew things, understood things, about Annabel that perhaps most didn't. He was curious about the connection and why, but he would respect Hetty's wish and leave it alone. For now.

"You've given me a pretty good picture of a psychotic, uncaring, unemotional regarding most things, probable deranged lunatic who appears to be hell-bent on revenge on any connection he can find to someone in his past."

"On the contrary Nate, I do not believe that to be quite accurate. Whoever he is, has been very patient, has kept his cards close to his chest, waited in the wings and has enough power to leave us with barely a clue to go on."

"So a rich, psychotic, deranged lunatic with an IQ that would probably shoot him straight to the top of the leader board at Mensa."

Hetty tilted her head in acknowledgement of Nate's profile. That sounded about right.

"Annabel and Callen?" Nate raised his eyebrows curiously as he asked his question, leading the conversation in a slightly different direction.

"What about them?" Hetty asked.

"Is this a good thing?"

Hetty smiled. "It appears to be. They are good for each other. They both deserve someone to care about them."

"He does seem to be protective of her. Is she okay?"

Seeing Callen leaving the plane, walking down the steps just in front of Annabel with his body turned slightly so he could see her; the way he had slipped his arm around her the moment they were off the steps and on the tarmac. Those kind of signs were definitely suggestive of a strong attachment and protectiveness. They were also things that Nate rarely saw in Callen unless it was for the purpose of an undercover op. Callen gave Nate the distinct impression that his personal space was a no go zone, but it didn't appear that way in his interactions with Annabel.

"Aside from the emotional aspect of the betrayal that happened," Hetty advised, "she has some injuries that were incurred whilst she was protecting him. I requested her help as his bodyguard."

Nate knew that meant a lot. Hetty obviously trusted Annabel a great deal for her to have entrusted Callen's life to her. Nate knew Hetty cared more for this small team than was dictated by the professional relationship. This just added to that knowledge of the depth of that relationship, even if Hetty wouldn't necessarily admit to it.

"Were you matchmaking Hetty?"

"No." Hetty smiled a soft smile that took Nate by surprise. "Though, as I told Mr Hanna when he asked me that question, they do make a good looking couple. Nate," Hetty's tone took on an earnest quality, "both of them have been without someone who could understand their lives for a long time. They've been alone far too long. They both have so much to offer each other. Even if they don't entirely realise what that is yet."

"I take it you approve of them together," Nate said.

Hetty nodded. "Yes. I have known them both for a long time and it is definitely pleasing to see the development of the relationship."

"It hasn't been long, Hetty. Barely two weeks. Do you think-"

Hetty cut off his question with a look.

"We both know that in their line of work, two weeks can seem like a lifetime and that there is no guarantee that life is going to last much longer. Time is not a deciding factor in their relationship."

That was true and Nate could see where she was coming from, but Callen changing this much in so short a period of time. Nate wasn't quite sure about it, though considering everything that he had learnt recently, that would be enough to change someone, maybe even cause them to let down their walls and seek comfort and support from others when they would usually isolate themselves. Anyone but Callen and Nate wouldn't be too worried. Except perhaps Kensi, but then he was already intrigued about what had happened with her and whoever this Marcus was. He wouldn't mind meeting the man who had managed to not only score a second date but also a third with their, 'Don't do second dates' agent.

"Hetty," Eric called from above. Hetty looked up grateful that he hadn't whistled this time.

"Yes, Eric."

"Could you come up? Something you should see."

Nate and Hetty stood up and went to join Eric and Annabel in the ops centre. Hetty was pleased to see the usual relaxed and 'in my element' look on Eric's face that hadn't been there whilst they had been in London and the MI6 office.

"What is it Eric?" Hetty asked, a miniscule frown forming on her face at the look on Eric's face.

"Mary Baker is in hospital; critical. Her husband Owen is in the morgue. They were attacked in their home a few hours ago."

Hetty tensed. This was not good news. "Does Mr Callen know?"

"Yeah," Eric said. "I just called Sam and told them to go straight to the hospital instead."

"Have you heard from Miss Blye and Grey?" Hetty asked.

Annabel shook her head. "No, not yet. But they won't be at the address for Grace for another half hour."

Nate could hear the tension in Annabel and see the concern and frustration in her eyes. He would like to talk to her sometime and see if he could help her but he had a feeling now wasn't going to be a good time. But then, there never usually was when it came to agents and talking. Nate focused back on the issue at hand.

"Do you think she would be there at home if her parents are in hospital?" Nate asked.

"Probably not," Annabel answered, "which is why Eric is trying to find out if she has a car."

Hetty looked at Eric, a slight hint of confusion showing on her face.

"If she's driving from Bakersfield to San Diego, there are places that she'll have to go through with traffic cameras. I might be able to find her that way."

Hetty nodded. "Good job Eric. Keep me informed."


	44. Chapter 44

_A/N –Thanks so much for the great reviews for the last chapter. You are such a great bunch of readers, always encouraging and is a bit of a bonus chapter.  
_

_Just a little look into Kensi's three dates! I found myself playing around in her mind wondering about how Marcus had convinced Kensi for date number two, let alone three! A very different style of writing so hopefully you'll enjoy it._

_I wasn't quite sure where to put it. It is set whilst on the plane on the way back to LA, so before any of them, aside from Annabel knew who her date had been with. Remember also for the purpose of this story that Kensi's fiancé died four years ago. It was either here or in a completely separate story but figured here was better because only those interested in the story would be interested in it. Anyway, enjoy. _

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_._

**Chapter 44**

.

Kensi sat back in the comfortable chair and sighed to herself as she feigned sleep. If only they could travel this way all the time. She knew they couldn't; knew that these were extra special circumstances. But really, who wouldn't wish this was the normal way to fly.

They were heading back to LA to find some woman called Mary who was somehow connected to Callen. If Annabel's theory was right, she was his sister and he also had a niece. This whole mission was getting so thoroughly twisted she wasn't entirely sure she could keep up with all the details anymore. All she knew was that this was the best lead they had on anything so far and they would follow it to the end. Mentally she crossed her fingers that Callen would get the answers he was looking for. She didn't know how but she hoped.

Callen had changed so much during these last two weeks. Annabel had been a part of that. Falling in love did that to someone. She knew that. She remembered that from when it had happened to her. That shift from only worrying (or not worrying) about what happened to you, to worrying about what happened to you, to someone else and how something happening to you would affect that someone else. Callen had opened up that night in the hotel room after his nightmare. So had she, just a little but it was a beginning. Was that when this had all started? When she admitted how important Callen was to her? That he was family. Was that when her defenses had started to weaken?

Because something had happened to make her on the verge of date number four.

Marcus.

How had he done it? She still wasn't sure, but just the thought of him brought a small smile to her lips. He hadn't sweet talked her, he'd dealt in facts and somehow she hadn't been able to argue with them. To be perfectly honest, she hadn't really wanted to.

Marcus.

She'd been on three dates so far with him. At least as far as he was concerned and she found herself reasonably willing to believe it too.

Marcus claimed date number one was Annabel and Grey's birthday party. Though he hadn't told her that until she'd turned him down for a second date after what she thought was their first. He'd wanted a better reason than her simple response that she wasn't a second date girl. It just wasn't her. She'd ended up giving him the same explanation she'd once given Callen and Sam. That was when he'd started his attack. Attack wasn't the right word though. Persuasive discussion was perhaps a better description.

Kensi thought back to the party. There had been an instant attraction the moment she'd seen Marcus, tempered by shock and a little confusion when Annabel had all but thrown herself into his arms and he'd seemed so absorbed with her for that moment. She'd glanced at Callen, saw the brief glimpse of jealousy that he'd pushed aside and then she'd turned back to watch them. Annabel had brought Marcus back to Callen and left Marcus' side to be closer Callen as she'd introduced them. The look on Marcus' face had seemed accepting and not jealous, and it had made her very curious about the relationship between the two of them. She'd studied him again as the introductions went around and then Annabel had mentioned Hawaii, which could explain why he looked so tanned.

He was tall, dark and handsome. Taller than her, his hair was thick but well groomed and her fingers were curious at how it would feel. She accepted her attraction to him and certainly wasn't too worried about the speed of it or where her thoughts drifted. After all, being a one date girl she needed something to start with. It helped that he was well dressed; his suit tailored specifically to his body. She knew that because of Hetty. Hetty always had any suits she purchased for the undercover wardrobe tailored to fit whoever would be wearing it. She said it made all the difference between looking great and just looking like a guy in a suit. But what really attracted her to Marcus, she realised, was the look in his eyes and the way he held himself. He was confident, well spoken, cheerful and cheeky with a hint of mystery yet there was a very definite caring and concerned nature underneath. She'd seen the way he'd checked out Annabel's injuries in a brief glance, the way he'd monitored her for a while before he seemed to be happy that she really was okay.

Kensi reflected on the way Marcus had flirted with her subtly through the evening. He'd sat next to her at the dining table during dinner and she'd felt the heat from his arm brush against hers more than once, even his leg occasionally when he'd gotten up or returned to his chair. He'd included her in his conversations, hadn't dominated them and had seemed very interested in what she had to say. She was sure no one else noticed though, as he kept all little signs of flirtation brief and specifically for her.

There had been two times they had been alone. She'd gone to the bathroom and when she came back to the kitchen to refill her drink, he was there refilling his own. Marcus had taken her glass from her, filled it and handed it back. Their hands had briefly touched and she'd felt the sparks. She'd smiled and thanked him with a bright and sincere smile and saw the interest flare in his eyes. He'd held her gaze for a few moments before someone else walked in and disturbed them. For the life of her, she couldn't remember who it had been, only that she was really disappointed that they had been interrupted. Later that night, when she'd wanted to change from wine to something a little softer, she'd gone back to the kitchen for a fresh glass and to see what was on offer. The glasses were in a high cupboard and as she'd reached up to get them he was suddenly behind her and beating her to it. He'd put them down in front of her but didn't step back. His hands had rested on the bench either side of her, his chest so close to her back that she could feel the heat from him. He'd said her name quietly and she'd turned around in his arms and looked up at him.

He was taller than her. Not something that happened all that often. She was a reasonably tall girl, especially when heels were added to her outfit as had been tonight, and until that moment, height had never really been something she thought about. But looking up into his dark, interested eyes, seeing him lean down to her, her heart had started racing as it hadn't in a long time. Suddenly she'd felt small, delicate and decidedly feminine, almost in need of protection by the tall, strong man standing over her and she didn't know what to say.

He did. He'd asked her to meet him for drinks the next night. She hadn't been able to form a response which was so unlike her. She'd just been too caught up in the unexpected way he'd made her feel and the heat that just being near him was creating in her body. He'd grinned at her then, as if knowing exactly what was happening to her, whilst he'd slowly lowered his head and brushed his lips across hers. It was barely a second, probably not even half of one, that his lips were in contact with hers. She wasn't entirely sure it could be classified as a kiss. But she could still remember it, could still feel the sensations it had created when she thought about it. He'd given her his number, on a business card so she wouldn't forget it, and told her to call him when she'd decided and then he was gone. It had taken her a couple of minutes to regain her sensibilities before she'd left the kitchen and re-joined the group.

She'd watched him carefully through the night, even before she was trying to decide if she was interested enough to say yes. She'd had fun listening to the stories about him, Annabel, Grey and Tom. He was a great story teller, animated not only physically but his voice and tones. It was very easy to get caught up in the stories. She'd felt included that night, accepted by everyone in the room. Even though this was most definitely a close family, they had accepted them all. Callen included. She'd noticed how relaxed Callen was; the teasing and the comments to Annabel that had her blushing, the way he'd kept her close and the little gestures. Like the little touches that almost seemed unconscious on his part, as well as the reassuring look and the way his arm had slipped around Annabel at the question from Sam about Tom. Those were all things that weren't something Callen would normally do. He was usually much more reserved in his interactions when around anyone outside the team. She had also witnessed the smiles on Nicholas, Penelope and Marcus at the interaction between Callen and Annabel. It made her feel good that they had accepted him so easily; pleased her that Callen had found someone.

It was obvious to her that Callen was in love with Annabel. The changes in him, the way he accepted her being so close, didn't pull away from her. Callen rarely accepted anyone in his personal space. She knew that he let her get close to him on missions and that slowly over time, he'd accepted hugs from her and that if he felt she needed some comfort was willing to give it to her, even if it just meant standing close enough that she was in that space. But she knew it was nothing more than team mate or perhaps even brotherly concern. With Annabel, she could easily see it was so much more than simple comfort or attraction; from both of them and that warmed her heart.

Her heart. Yes, how did it happen?

She'd gone back to their apartment with Sam and Eric after the party and checking out the bike. She'd been lying in bed, unable to sleep. She could still feel the brush of Marcus' lips on hers and her cheek from where he had kissed her goodnight. Nothing out of the ordinary, it was just one of those simple ritual kind of things. She hadn't been able to get comfortable or stop her mind from going over all the little things he'd done that had made her blush under her well applied make-up, her heart skip a beat or her eyes lock on his for just a brief moment that had felt like so much longer. During those moments she'd felt like she was the only one in the room with him. After an hour she'd grabbed the phone and dialled his number. She hadn't really cared that it was after midnight. She needed to get it out of her head so she could get some sleep. His voice had been sleepy and deep and for a moment she pictured what it would be like to hear it from next to her in the bed. Shaking off that rather intimate picture, she'd said simply, "Yes I'll have a drink with you." He'd given her an address for where to meet him and she had been able to hear the smile and triumph in his voice, then the tone had changed when he'd said, "Thank you, Kensi. I'm looking forward to seeing you again." It had sent a shiver of awareness down her spine that she was going out with a man she found extremely attractive and that he found her the same way. Not only that, but she knew a little about him and actually liked what she did know; it wasn't purely physical attraction. She'd hung up and tried to go back to sleep. When she finally had, she'd slipped into dreams about the possibilities of that voice being in the bed next to her and when she'd woken up in the morning, the shower she had taken had definitely been on the cold side.

By the time she had managed to slip away that night for their date, she'd been late. She'd called Marcus briefly just before she was supposed to meet him and he'd promised her that he would wait. He knew what it was like when things were tense at work. He'd experienced it with Annabel and was patient. His only plans that night were with her. He was so different to the men that she usually dated in that respect. The few times that she had been late with them they'd been miffed and hadn't even bothered to listen to her explanation before stalking off, or in the case of the ones that did stick around, they felt they were entitled to a little more than she wanted to give them to make up for it. Not that they'd been successful in getting it. She had no problem defending herself from unwanted advances. And if she was ever in a spot of bother that she felt was too much for her to handle on her own, she knew a quick call to Callen or Sam would take care of any difficulties.

She'd met Marcus for drinks at a nearby pub. They'd had a drink or two along with a few nibbles and talked. He was interesting, told her about himself; things he'd done, places he'd visited or worked. He'd also told her that if she wanted to talk about anything she could, but considering her line of work he knew that some things were off limits and he didn't want to push, so he'd leave it up to her to decide what she wanted to share with him and she could just tell him to shut up if he was talking too much. She hadn't shut him up. She'd enjoyed the company, the conversation, enjoyed the lack of pressure at having to filter everything she said or to try and keep up her end of a conversation that was barely based in truth because she wouldn't be seeing whoever it was again. She was still amazed at the difference it made to how relaxed she felt, knowing that the person she was with had some idea about her real occupation and understood that she was limited in what she could talk about. It had helped her talk as well, feeling that she could trust him. Perhaps because both Annabel and Grey did and that gave her something a little more solid to add to that gut feeling she had about him. She'd found herself telling him the truth, about her father, about some parts of her life. About her fiancé. That had surprised her when she'd started but Marcus had been fine, interested even and, most importantly, sincerely understanding. He hadn't zoned out or tried to change the subject. The sympathy Marcus had shown for her loss was real and sincere. That was when she had found out more about Tom and how close they had been. Tom had been like a brother to him and he had also witnessed the kind of loss she had experienced, through Annabel, and understood how difficult it was losing someone you felt that way about.

Whilst they had been talking he'd suggested that they might as well eat, so they had ordered some food. It was Curry Night at the pub and so they had ordered a couple of types of naan bread, pappadums with mango chutney, as well as a delicious Butter Chicken and Lamb Korma. By the time that was over, she was sure she couldn't fit anymore in. Marcus had then taken her hand and led them outside to his bike. When he'd handed her the keys, her eyes went wide in surprise, shock and then excitement. Marcus had chuckled and smiled, telling her she was only getting a small ride then he'd take over. He had somewhere he wanted to take her. It had only taken her a second to decide and he'd handed her a helmet and put one on himself. Climbing on the bike, he'd slipped on behind her and explained where everything was. She was sure he was taking advantage of the situation; that the explanation would have been easier had he done it from a standing position before getting on the bike, but she didn't mind, especially as he fitted so well behind and around her. He allowed her about five minutes before he signalled that it was his turn. She pulled up and they changed positions, her arms going around him and her hands resting over a firm, muscular stomach. She kept her fingers still, though she was tempted to slip them between the buttons on his shirt and see if he felt as good as she thought he would.

Marcus parked the bike near the river and they had taken a walk along the Thames, hand in hand. He'd led them to the London Eye and pulled out tickets from his pocket. She'd looked at him a little curiously then, but he'd just grinned and told her that he'd been busy that day, because he'd wanted to be prepared. They got on, the only two in the capsule, and it had started to move. They'd stood there watching the lights and the incredible view they could see on the clear night that it was. At least she had. She'd felt his eyes watching her for most of the way up and it was at the top when the capsule stopped moving for a few minutes that she finally turned from the view outside to look at him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

"_I've enjoyed myself immensely tonight, Kensi Blye. Thank you for joining me," Marcus said, his gaze locked on hers as he reached for her hand and brought it up to his lips._

"_So have I," she replied with a soft smile. What was it about this man that had her feeling all girly and soft? In a way that wasn't an act._

"_I have to leave the day after tomorrow. Would you have dinner with me tomorrow night? I usually go out with Grey and Annabel before I leave, so it won't be just the two of us but you won't have questions to answer about another date," Marcus said with a grin. She'd told him about the reaction of her team to her date._

_She shook her head and replied, "I don't do second dates. I've had a great time, but I just don't." The rejection was automatic, though the explanation wasn't. She really wanted to say yes, but whatever this was between them, whether it was just physical or whatever, it wasn't likely to work. Distance, their respective jobs adding even more to that, her track record. So why was she disappointed with her answer?_

"_Why not?" Marcus asked._

_Slightly reluctantly, she gave the same explanation she gave the guys at work. First date equals funny, flirty, charming, spontaneous and tasteful. Second date equals antsy, bored, distant, impatient and irritable ._

_Marcus frowned for just a moment before a look she couldn't quite read, came over his features and he raised an eyebrow. "Okay. However, you've already done the second date, Kensi. Tonight, and you were none of those things."_

_She frowned. "No. This is our first date."_

"_Nope. Second," Marcus said confidently with a smile._

"_And how do you figure that?" she asked curiously, a tiny amount of something, perhaps hope, rising in her. Was he giving her a way out of her own rule? Maybe she could say yes after all._

"_The party was the first."_

"_No, that wasn't a date. That was the first time we met."_

"_True, but I hit seven of the ten things on my list that classified it as a date."_

"_You have a list of things to do on a date?"_

"_No, just things that tell me whether I've successfully been on a date or not. As long as I manage half of them, it's a date."_

"_They are?" She was curious._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The List ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

_1. Pick her up_

_2. Get her a drink._

_3. Pay for dinner._

_4. Spend some time alone with her._

_5. Make her smile at least three times._

_6. Sit next to her if in a group or across from her if alone and talk with her._

_7. Make sure she knows I'm interested._

_8. Ask for another date and give or get a contact number._

_9. Kiss her goodnight._

_10. Drop her home._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o  
_

"_So Kensi, you've already done the second date and might I say that you were very entertaining, charming and beautiful and I would really like to see you again." Marcus stepped closer to her. "Would you like to see me again?" he asked._

_Again, she didn't know what to say. Marcus lowered his head and her heart pounded. Would the kiss this time be real? Her gaze briefly dropped to his lips as her head dropped back slightly as she looked up at him. Her lips parted just a little and she saw him smile in satisfaction as his hand tangled in her hair._

"_Say yes, Kensi. Say you'll see me again. Please," Marcus asked her in a low, intimate voice. She felt his breath whisper across her lips and he held himself still. She wanted to beg him to kiss her, but she didn't. She still didn't know what to say, but she knew what she wanted. She was a confident woman. She could kiss him, she didn't need to wait. So she moved; he was so close, barely an inch between their lips, it wouldn't take much. But he moved too, keeping the distance the same._

"_Please say yes," he begged once more. She saw in his eyes that he really did mean it. He really was interested in her._

"_Yes," she whispered and then closed the distance between them. This time he didn't pull away. _

_This kiss was better than she imagined, better than she could remember having in a long time. He dominated the kiss to start with, drove her to distraction with his exploration of her mouth. The taste of him on her tongue was intoxicating and sang in her blood more than a full bottle of tequila ever had. She wanted more and she took it, taking charge of the kiss at one point. She was slightly shocked that he handed over control to her, he seemed such a powerful man, yet here he was allowing her to step up and take over. _

_The kiss was more heated than even her dreams, yet it was just that. Just a kiss. His hand that had been in her hair, stayed there. His other hand that was resting on her lower back, holding her close, didn't move. It didn't drift lower, didn't drift around and up or under her shirt. It was just a kiss. A kiss that left her feeling like a lot more had happened, yet still left her wanting so much more. They broke apart only when the capsule they were standing in stopped suddenly with a small jerk and the doors swooshed open. The ride was over and they were back at the bottom and she had no idea of how long they had been kissing. There was a knowing smile on the attendant's face as they stepped out and she couldn't control the impulse to check their clothes, which were, of course, perfectly presentable. She shook off the slightly disappointed feeling at that knowledge. Marcus took her hand and pulled her close, putting his arm around her shoulder as they walked in a comfortable silence back to the bike. Marcus drove them back to the apartment building and got off, helped her off and carefully removed her helmet before placing both of them on the handles of the bike._

"_I'll call Annabel tomorrow and arrange things. Just go with the flow and you shouldn't have anything to worry about."_

"_I can go with the flow." She stepped closer to him. "Can you?" she asked as she reached up and pulled his head down to hers for another kiss. Marcus pulled his head back before it could get too heated, but the kiss had left her wishing that she wasn't staying in an apartment with Sam and Eric._

"_You should go in on your own. Especially if you don't want to have to answer questions."_

_She smiled, pleased that he was definitely interested in her too. The look in his eyes told her that, as did the unmistakable reaction of his body to hers that she could feel as she was still pressed up against him with her arms around his neck. She debated for a moment whether or not to just invite him in and deal with the questions later. She wanted to and she was about to when she remembered something._

"_You wouldn't be able to come in anyway," she said, disappointment clearly evident in her voice to both of them._

_Marcus looked at her for a moment. "You want me to come in?" he asked._

_She bit her lip, suddenly nervous. "Yes," she admitted, "but you can't. The security."_

_Marcus brushed her hair back behind her ear. "Kensi," his tone was serious and she frowned slightly, unsure what was coming. "I really do want to come in with you. You have to know that. I could, but I'm not going to."_

_At the confusion on her face, Marcus added, "I'm cleared to go in. I stay with Annabel sometimes when I'm back in London. I've been on the list since she moved in."_

"_Why won't you come in then?" she asked, curiosity gaining ground over the disappointment she felt._

"_Because I'm not a one night stand kind of guy. If this goes any further, it's because we both want more than one night." Marcus brushed his fingers over her cheek and added, "And I am definitely interested in more than one night with you, Kensi."_

_He kissed her softly and then gently pushed her in the direction of the door. "Goodnight Kensi. I'll see you tomorrow."_

"_Goodnight Marcus. Thank you for tonight." _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

She'd slipped into the apartment quietly that night, at least she thought she had. But Sam had known and then she'd had to handle the questions in the car the next day. With everything that had happened down in Brighton she had to admit that she was slightly concerned that the drinks with Annabel wouldn't pan out. But the look on Callen's face when Annabel had turned around in the car and asked if they would be up for it, had settled her nerves. This was the change that she had witnessed in Callen.

The mission wasn't the only thing that was important to Callen now and he obviously knew how much Marcus meant to Annabel. He'd agreed and it had been easier than she had expected. So far, no one had a clue who her date had been with. They certainly wouldn't suspect that they were about to accompany her on date number three. Though, she hadn't been expecting that they were going to go back to the same place as she'd been to last night with Marcus and only narrowly escaped saying something when Annabel had mentioned Ric's. Later, she'd slipped away and called Marcus, nervous that someone who had seen them last night would say something. He'd assured her that he'd taken care of that and she'd relaxed a little. This was all so new to her and the last thing she needed right now was for Callen and Sam to turn into protective big brothers over the fact that she had gone on more than one date with the same guy.

When they'd slipped into their seats that night at Ric's, she'd found herself on the opposite side of the table to Marcus. He'd smiled at her, one that brought all the heat back to her body that his kiss had last night. She hoped no one would notice and used every trick she knew to get rid of the blush that appeared on her cheeks at the memory of that kiss. After eating the most delicious burger, she'd needed to clean up and Annabel had taken her to the bathroom, needing to do the same. On the way back they'd stopped by the jukebox and were having a bit of a laugh at some of the old songs Ric kept on there. Memories of school dances and karaoke were exchanged and they were laughing happily together at some memory one of them had told, but she couldn't remember what it was anymore because that was when their attention had been drawn to the scuffle at the bar that had included their guys. They'd moved over quickly and then all hell had broken loose when Annabel had looked at Daniel.

What came after, she was sure now she looked back on it, was when the foundations of the walls around her heart had been severely shaken. She'd watched Marcus, watched his reaction to Annabel and the way he had gone to her without any hesitation. The way he had been there for her, wanted to help and wasn't scared of what was happening. Well, yes he was scared, but that scared had been for what Annabel was going through, not what she was doing to him; the way she held on so tight digging her fingers into his shoulders. When Annabel had screamed, Marcus hadn't even flinched at the sound, he was completely focused on trying to calm her down and get her back to them. She had seen the pain flicker across his face, but again, pain for her. As Callen, Grey and Marcus had tried to get through to Annabel, Sam had put his arm around her and pulled her close; comfort for both of them. Neither had witnessed anything like it or heard such a cry of pain in their lives and that was saying something. Whilst all of this was happening though, she hadn't been able to take her eyes off Marcus and the way he was handling it. She'd watched closely when Annabel had been curled up in his arms whilst Callen spoke with Grey and Sam. Marcus had held Annabel close, tight and his focus remained solely on Annabel; on keeping her calm and safe. The reassuring touches, the whispered words. His gaze never even drifted to Kensi. And that, in itself, smashed at those already shaky walls like a demolition ball.

It wasn't that she wanted to be ignored, especially if this was a date, but it was the fact that Marcus had his priorities right. Annabel needed him and, given what they had just witnessed, she knew Marcus needed to be focused only on what he could do to help her stay calm and feel safe. There was a brief moment of jealously that Annabel had someone like that in her life, more than one someone actually, given the way Callen and Grey were responding to her. But that quickly dissipated with two memories – one that Sam and Callen were her family and would be there for her like this and two - the simple memory of what Marcus had said to her last night. "I am definitely interested in more than one night with you, Kensi." Because if that were true, and things went further than just a few dates, she knew if she ever needed him like Annabel did right now, that he would be there for her.

When Callen had picked Annabel up out of Marcus' arms, she saw the slight reluctance at handing her over. She had moved to stand next to him then, as they had watched Callen, Annabel and Grey leave. She'd slipped her hand into his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. When the door closed he'd looked down at her and then at Sam and suggested that perhaps they could all do with a drink. They'd gone back out to the table, sat down and Ric brought them over another round of drinks, without having to be asked, along with a selection of cakes for dessert. When Grey had arrived back, he and Sam left, neither wanting to be too far away from Callen and Annabel. Marcus gave them the keys to the bike, told Grey to use it if he needed to get to Annabel quickly tonight. So Sam got his ride on the bike after all as Grey dropped him back to the apartment on his way home. Marcus had assured Sam that he would see her home safely.

Marcus had been distracted, which was only to be expected. Eventually he'd started talking to her and she'd found out just how close he was with Annabel. Found out how he'd been away when she had come back and was in the hospital seven years ago. How he had called twice every day whilst she had been in the coma and Grey had held the phone to her ear so he could talk to her, hoping she would know he was there, even if he wasn't. How he'd hated not being able to be there and how he'd worked eighteen hour days for three weeks to get six weeks' worth of work done so he could get back to her, having not been able to get out of the job he was on. How he'd handed over the travel to another person in his firm for the next three months so he could work from home and be there for Annabel until she was back on her feet. How, if he hadn't been so focused on keeping Grey from killing Daniel a few nights after he had left her alone with her nightmares, he'd have done it instead. How he'd proposed to Annabel.

That had shocked her. That Marcus was that willing to do something like that for Annabel to keep her safe. Combined with everything else she had learnt about Marcus, Kensi knew that this man beside her was someone out of the ordinary; knew that if she let him into her life, he wouldn't let her down.

They'd caught a cab back to the apartment and Marcus had walked her to the door whilst the cab waited for him. He'd thanked her for listening and then looked deep into her eyes and asked for date number four. She'd replied, "When?" He'd smiled and told her had a contract in California that started in a few weeks and would be there for between three and six months. She'd said yes.

She had no idea how it had happened; how she had ended up on the verge of date number four having only known the man for three days. But here she was.

Here she was in a situation she hadn't been in for so long that she couldn't actually remember how long ago that was. Her she was. Her. The girl who only did one date, the girl who never told the real story about who she was, the girl who never thought she would find someone who could handle the life she led and the dangers inherent with it. Here she was wondering about how a man could fit in with her life, and not just a man in general, but one in particular. Here she was looking forward to date number four with Marcus.

She didn't know whether this would work, she didn't know if it was the 'real' thing; if her heart would open up enough to love someone, and she still didn't know how he had done it.

But she was glad he had.


	45. Chapter 45

_A/N - Thanks again for all the support for this story, it's amazing and encouraging. _

_I'm in the middle of trying to write the last couple chapters (which are still a reasonable distance away. There is quite a bit left of the story) and am having a little trouble figuring out just how to wrap everything up so since it this one just required a final polish, I decided to do that in the hopes that it will help me get into the right 'zone' to get somewhere with the writing._

_There is a phone conversation in this chapter, the italics are what the person on the phone can hear but no one else can. It does get explained a little but thought I'd just add this note here to help keep it clear.  
_

_Disclaimer in Chapter one._

_.  
_

**Chapter 45**

.

Once Callen and Sam arrived at the hospital, the last part of the journey by made pushing the boundaries of the speed limit, they found their way quickly to Mary's room. Sam took care of a distraction whilst Callen slipped into the room.

Lying on the bed was woman, definitely younger than he was. Light brown hair or dark blonde hair, Callen couldn't quite decide, but it was close enough to his own to give him hope. Her eyes were closed so he couldn't see if they matched or not.

His sister? Maybe.

He wished he could figure it out, but short of having a DNA test or waiting and hoping he could find his mother he didn't have a whole lot of choice. He wasn't entirely sure he could swing a DNA test right now without a fair amount of help from Hetty and a needle. Needle... He mentally shivered at the thought, but knew he'd be willing, if it would give him answers. Maybe he would talk to Hetty.

Callen checked over her chart. He knew enough to be able to work out that Mary was critical. She'd lost a lot of blood from the bullet, taken a blow to the head and had been fairly unresponsive so far. The bullet had gone all the way through, thankfully not damaging anything vital. It was mostly the loss of blood that was the concerning factor, whether she could recover from almost being drained and what damage that would leave her with.

Callen turned quickly at the sound of the door being opened. He relaxed slightly as Sam slipped through to join him.

"How is she?" Sam asked.

Callen shook his head as he turned back to Mary. "Not looking good."

"You think she is your sister?"

"I don't know. I don't have anything to compare her to," he said as he wished he had more memories of Amy to help. "Tossing up asking Hetty for a DNA test."

Sam almost snorted in disbelief and that brought a small smile to Callen's face.

"You? Needle? Volunteer?"

"Come on, Sam. This is bigger than me not liking needles."

Sam turned serious again. "It is. I've organised some security for her. Just in case."

Callen turned back to Sam with a slight frown. "Is that what you were talking about with them out there?"

Sam nodded as his gaze slid past Callen to the woman on the bed. Callen stepped back to give Sam a better look. Maybe Sam would see something in her that he had missed.

"Yeah. They saw you slip in, had to think quick," Sam answered. "Called Hetty. She played along brilliantly. She's sending over some agents from the base here and there are two security guards outside already. I've told them we'll be in here until our replacements arrive."

Callen was once again grateful for Sam's ability to think on his feet. "At least she should be safe then, at least from whoever did this."

He turned back to Mary and glanced over the machines again, hoping to see some change that would indicate she was getting better.

"Hey, if she's anything like you, she'll pull through," Sam encouraged him.

"Yeah," Callen said, hoping that some of the fight that he had in him was actually genetic.

Sam stepped away and went to stand by the door, giving Callen some space. Callen pulled a chair up beside Mary and sat down. He hated hospitals but here he was anyway, listening to the beeping of the machines keeping her alive.

His sister? He still wasn't sure if he wanted her to be or not. Just another person in his life that could be hurt. No, he fought with himself. No. He wasn't alone anymore. He wasn't going to run. His family, his pack. If she was a part of it, he would protect her too. If she survived this.

Sam straightened up as a voice came clearly through the door.

"Don't even think about it. I'm her daughter and you will let me in there. Unless you want to be in a hospital bed yourself," said the firm and distinctively female voice.

Callen stood quickly, gun drawn but kept behind his back and glanced at Sam, who already had his gun ready and was just about to step up to the door as it flew open. Sam narrowly missed it slamming into his face. A woman walked in and Sam reached out to stop her going any further. She threw him a look and said, "Hands off unless you want to lose it."

The look and tone were similar to those from Hetty that usually had Sam quaking in his boots and doing whatever she had asked. Sam dropped his hand from her and she turned and walked over to the bed, ignoring both of them. Sam moved to follow her, tense and ready, just in case she tried something.

"Mum?" she whispered as she looked at the woman on the bed. She reached down and kissed her gently on the head before turning around to look at the two men in the room, looking at Callen for slightly longer than she did Sam

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Federal Agents," Callen replied. "Who are you?"

"Grace. Who shot my mother?" she asked, getting straight to the point.

"Don't know," Callen answered. He studied her face, tried to see if there was something of himself in her.

Grace glared at him and turned back to her mother as one of the monitors made a funny beep. She looked them over and but there were no more unusual noises. She continued to look at her mother as she asked again.

"I don't believe you. Who the hell shot my mother?" Grace asked again, in the same tone as when she had told Sam hands off earlier, though there was a note of distress underlying it.

"It's the truth. We don't know who," Sam reiterated.

"But you have some idea who it was or that she is in danger. Because if you didn't there wouldn't be security outside nor would you be in here," Grace surmised fairly accurately. "Unless, of course, you are the ones who did it and you are here to finish the job."

Callen saw her hand move to underneath her jacket at the back and reached for his gun again when he saw she had one tucked into the back of her jeans. But she didn't reach for it. Instead she pulled something out of her pocket, turned around and threw it at him. Callen caught it easily, gathering that she didn't actually think they were the bad guys since the gun was still tucked away. He looked at the I.D in his hands quickly before looking back to her, she spoke again.

"I don't give a damn how classified this is, I swear neither of you will work again unless you tell me who you are and why you are in my mother's room," Grace demanded, looking straight at Callen and confidently held his gaze.

The I.D said Grace Johnstone. Twenty seven. But that couldn't be right. Neither could the fact that she had some very official looking FBI identification that said she had an extremely high level of clearance. It couldn't possibly be real; which also meant she was bluffing about making sure they wouldn't work again.

Callen showed Sam the I.D and Sam raised his eyebrows just slightly. Enough for Callen to pick up on and know Sam had the same doubts as he did. Callen decided to play along and let her think they believed her.

"We don't know. We came to talk to your mother and father about something," Callen paused as the tears pooled in her eyes and fell, so quickly that Grace seemed shocked. "I'm sorry about your father," he said gently.

Grace nodded as she swiped at the tears. "Keep going," she ordered.

"We were informed of the shooting before we got to their home and came straight here. We've organised security because we don't know who it was who did this, or whether they are done," Sam said.

Grace nodded. "Now tell me where you are from."

"NCIS."

Grace frowned. "Navy?"

Callen nodded.

Grace opened her mouth to further question them but at a sound from the bed she turned quickly.

"Grace?" came a weak and very faint voice from the bed.

"Mum?" Grace replied, her voice breathless and hopeful.

"You shouldn't be here," Mary said softly, worry filling her voice.

"What do you mean? Who did this?" Grace asked desperately. Callen and Sam moved closer to make sure they didn't miss anything.

"Your father," came the barely audible reply.

"What? Dad? But he couldn't." Grace stopped as her mother shook her head.

"Not Owen. Your real father. His men. You have to-" Mary coughed and moaned in pain. The beeps on the machines went a little crazy.

"Mum, stop," Grace begged. "You have to get better." She bent down and stroked her mother's hair to try and calm her down.

"No, you have to run," Mary said. Sam and Callen exchanged glances at this, both wondering about the desperation in Mary's tone, which grew as she continued. "You and your grandmother. He knows about you. He knows everything. Tell her, tell her he knows everything. She'll understand."

"I don't -"

"I know. Please run. Now." Mary's eyes fluttered closed, the beeps slowed down and settled as she slipped into unconsciousness.

"What did she mean? Your father?" Callen asked.

Grace ignored him and walked out the door. Callen followed, after giving Sam orders to stay put; to protect Mary.

Callen watched as Grace stood next to the wall across the hall, her forehead against it. He didn't approach, just waited to see what she would do next. He saw her shoulders rise and fall as she took a couple of calming breaths before she straightened up and pulled out her phone to call someone.

"Grandma," Grace said, a sob breaking her voice.

_"Grace? What is it?"_

"It's Mum, she's in hospital … and Dad... he's ... he's dead."

_"What? Darling, where? I'll come to you."_

Callen stepped closer in an attempt to hear the other end of the conversation.

"You can't," Grace said with a shake of her head. "She said it was my father. She said he knew everything; that you would understand."

There was silence on the phone.

"Grandma? Please, what's going on?" Grace almost sobbed again.

Callen couldn't hear the responses and was getting frustrated.

"_Grace, listen to me carefully. You know what you need to do. You remember right? How to run? How to hide?"_

"Yes, but-"

"_No buts. Go. I'll find you, like we planned. Just go now."_

"But she's still –"

"_We can't wait until she's better, Grace. You need to go now. Before it's too late for you. Please tell me you understand."_

Grace nodded. "I understand."

_"I love you, Grace. I will see you soon."_

"I'll see you soon. Love you too."

Callen stepped back away from her, having gotten quite close during the conversation, though still frustrated that he only had one side of it.

Grace hung up, pulled the small memory card out of her phone before she turned it off. She slipped the card into her handbag as she looked to the door of the room her mother was lying in.

"I'm sorry, Grandma. I can't," she whispered causing Callen to frown, the confusion growing in his mind. He had no idea what had just gone on with the phone call, but he had a strong sense that it wasn't good. Grace turned and walked away from the room.

"Where are you going?" Callen called out to her, as he followed. Grace turned back to face him, he could see the pain on her face; pain and determination.

"I have a murderer to kill," Grace replied before she turned and continued walking away quickly.

Callen followed her down the corridor. He put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. Grace spun around and had his hand in a vice like grip quickly.

"Try and stop me again and you won't be here as a visitor," Grace warned. Callen put his hands up in a sign of surrender after she let him go.

"Sorry, just wanted to talk before you go," Callen said.

"Why?" Grace asked suspiciously.

"She said your father did this? Do you know where to find him?" Callen asked.

He watched as she took a deep breath and he saw the pain flash in her eyes.

"I wish I didn't. But yes, I know where he is," Grace said as she turned and walked away again. As she passed by a bin, she ditched the phone. Callen frowned at her actions wondering just what she was up to. His thoughts drifted to Sam and Annabel.

Sam was stuck in the room waiting for the agents Hetty had organized, but they weren't here and would probably be a little while yet. Sam wasn't going to be happy that Callen was about to take off on his own. Callen knew he wouldn't be letting Grace out of his sight. Whatever was happening with her, he was sure was big and most likely dangerous. He felt in his pocket for his phone and almost groaned when he realised he didn't have one. They'd borrowed Nate's and Sam had it. The fact that he had the car keys was really going to put him in Sam's bad books.

Callen caught up with Grace as she found her car and pulled out her keys. As she was about to unlock the door, he quickly plucked the keys out of her hand. Grace spun around and looked at him. He stepped back slightly at her look. No wonder Sam had let her go earlier in the hospital room. She could definitely pull off scary and intimidating.

"You seriously want to end up in there in a bed of your own don't you?" Grace reached for her keys which Callen kept away from her.

"You always this nice?" Callen asked.

"Usually I'm an angel. I don't take kindly to people messing with my family," Grace replied.

"Fair enough, neither do I. I'm not trying to stop you, I'm just going to drive," Callen told her. Sam was going to kill him. He didn't want to think about what Annabel would do to him when she found out he'd left Sam.

"You think you're coming with me?" Grace asked with a lift of an eyebrow. Callen was sure that look was familiar.

"Yep," Callen said, his answer full of a confidence he wasn't entirely sure he felt.

"You think I am going to get in a car with a strange guy whose name I don't even know, let alone anything else about him? I'm not stupid."

Callen watched as Grace looked him over carefully. A look he knew was one of assessment; most likely considering how to get her keys back.

"Name's Graham. Shall we go?" At least that was what the I.D said that he'd grabbed out of the car before going inside. His spare I.D, the one he'd never used that was his emergency one.

"Last name?" she asked.

Cartwright? Carling? Damn, he didn't usually forget like this.

"Not important," Callen replied, when he couldn't figure it out. Her eyes narrowed at him.

"Liar," Grace said. Callen didn't respond to that and just waited. After a moment she continued. "Why do you want to come?"

"I want to get this guy too," Callen told her.

"Not as much as I do, and I can do this much better alone." Grace reached for her keys, which again, Callen kept out of her reach.

"You'd be surprised at how much I want him," Callen said seriously.

It wasn't hard, considering everything that had happened in the last two weeks, to come to a reasonable conclusion that this was connected. Which meant that if they could find who did this to Mary they just might get more of a lead on who was after him. There was the possibility that they were one and the same, which probably meant going with Grace was more dangerous than he'd first thought when he'd followed her. Whoever this guy was had hurt his family, at least that was the way it felt. He was sure that somehow Mary and Grace were connected to him and he just had to figure out how.

"Fine, go find him yourself," Grace said, as she made another attempt to get the keys. "I'm doing this my way, you do it yours."

"My way is with you," Callen told her. "Look, your dad has just been killed by your father. Your mother may or may not make it and whatever that conversation was on the phone has left you rattled. If you really think you are in a fit state to drive or dish out revenge single handedly, then get the keys off me and go. If you can," Callen challenged her as he put the keys in his pocket and hoped he wouldn't actually regret what he had just tempted her to do.

Grace looked at him and for a moment, contemplated making sure he ended up in the emergency room. She was confident of her abilities, though she did know that she wasn't invincible. Her grandmother had taken no chances when it came to making sure she could defend herself. Whether that translated to attack she wasn't quite sure, she'd never had reason to test that idea out. But there was only one man she wanted to hurt right now and she focused all of that rage on him, not on the one in front of her.

"Fine, but I give the orders," Grace said as she walked around to the passenger's side.

"Fine, but I reserve to right to ignore them," Callen replied, as he got in the driver's seat and started the car. He was quite relieved that things had gone better than he had expected.

Callen looked across at her. "Where to?" he asked.

"Airport," Grace said before she looked out the window away from him.

"Yes Ma'am," Callen said as he pulled out of the car park and sent a mental apology to Sam whilst he wondered what Hetty would say to Sam when he eventually called her.


	46. Chapter 46

_A/N_ - _So, now that FF seems to be working again, here is another chapter. Thanks again for the continued support. I'm very pleased that you are still interested after 46 chapters!  
_

_To anyone reading this being hit or affected by the floods (Jan 2011) around Queensland and New South Wales, and the bush fires in Western Australia, in Australia, I hope you are okay. I hope this gives you a little something to take your mind off things. Fingers crossed the rain stops and the rivers don't their predicted highs._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

**Chapter 46**

_**Previously at OSP **_

Whilst they waited for more information from Callen and Sam, who were still on their way to the hospital, and for Kensi and Grey to report back, Nate unexpectedly found himself talking with Annabel. He'd looked up from his desk at the knock on his office door and saw her standing there. He was finishing off the Chinese takeaway Hetty had organised for their dinner whilst going through the file they had found on Callen, trying to see something from a different perspective. He was surprised that she had come to him voluntarily.

"Annabel. Come in."

Nate stood up and moved from his desk to join her. She stepped in to the room and closed the door but didn't seem to want to sit down. He noticed she was looking a touch nervous.

"Are you all right?" Nate asked gently, as he took a seat on the couch in a less threatening position. He knew his height sometimes put people off.

Annabel looked at Nate for a moment before joining him on the couch. She took a breath and slowly released it, remembering that she was doing this for Callen and for Zoe and that there was no way it would be harder than what she had done in that interrogation room in Washington.

"Callen wanted me to help you profile this guy."

Nate nodded. So maybe not completely doing this voluntarily; she was doing this for Callen. "Hetty did mention that."

"Do you still need me to tell you about him?"

Nate could tell she was reluctant, but he wasn't sure if it was because she didn't know him or because of what she had been through.

"It would help me to refine the profile, but if you aren't up for it, that's okay."

Annabel shook her head. "It's not that exactly. I'm just not sure how much help it will be."

"Or if it might trigger more bad memories," Nate added.

Annabel gave him a small smile at being caught out. "Hetty's told you a little, has she?"

"Not as much as I would like, but some." He'd managed to get a little more out of Hetty so that he had some information to ensure he didn't put his foot in it. Hetty had simply told him that Annabel had some very bad experiences in the past that had recently been brought back to her mind, in the form of a rather distressing flashback. It hadn't given him much but it was a little bit more to help him understand Annabel, and her obvious reluctance.

It appeared to be the right thing to say and Annabel chuckled softly and relaxed slightly back against the couch. Nate took that as a very good sign.

"What kind of things would help you understand him?" Annabel asked, obviously still reluctant to delve into this.

"Whatever you are willing to tell me. I won't push Annabel. I understand from what Hetty has told me this has been a very difficult time for you, and not just physically."

Annabel nodded. "Callen trusts you Nate, so I do too. Please, don't think that I don't."

Annabel's words gave Nate a rather warm and fuzzy feeling inside. Getting through to Callen was one of the toughest jobs he'd ever had and knowing that he was being successful, in some way, was very rewarding.

"Whoever he is," Annabel started and Nate turned his focus to her, making sure he took it all in and wouldn't need to have to ask her to repeat anything, "he has taken a lot from me. He's taken my daughter's life, wormed his way into mine through others that I trusted with everything, only to find out that they didn't deserve it, and caused more people in my life to be put in danger, hurt or killed because of it."

The pain in her chest increased as she thought of those innocent ones who'd been hurt: Zoe, Grey, Adrian, Mandy and John. She took a few calming breaths before she continued.

"Callen feels that whoever he is may be the reason his mother has never been able to come back. At least that is what he hopes." Annabel turned her gaze to Nate and looked at him openly, allowing him to see the emotions swirling around in her. She switched off the agent control for just a little while.

"We both want to find him, and Nate, when we do … I can't guarantee that whoever he is will live to see the encounter finish. He's dangerous and ruthless and he killed my daughter."

She stopped there, her voice breaking on the last words. She couldn't keep going and closed her eyes.

Nate easily saw the agony and the pain in Annabel's eyes as she had spoken. He may not have felt the kind of pain that she had been through, but he could understand how it had affected her and what she wanted to do about it. He didn't need anymore.

Nate moved closer to her and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Annabel opened her eyes and looked at him, unshed tears shining in her eyes.

"Thank you," Nate said, "for trusting me with all of that. I'm very sorry for what you have been through.

Annabel smiled. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you anything more."

"You've given me enough. I'm here anytime, if you do want to talk some more. Nothing will leave this room, I promise you that."

"Thanks Nate," Annabel replied sincerely as she stood up. She was halfway to the door when Nate stopped her and she turned back to him.

"Annabel, I don't mean to pry but… You and Callen. Is it serious?"

"Are you asking if I'm in love with him?"

"Yeah, I guess I am."

Nate was still concerned about the change in Callen and wanted to make sure that the feelings were reciprocated, not that he knew exactly what Callen felt but he suspected it was something serious, given the extent of those changes.

"Yes Nate. I am. And he knows that," Annabel assured him.

"You haven't known him for long." Nate hoped she wouldn't take offense to his comment.

"No I haven't. But then I didn't know my husband for more than a moment before I knew he was the one and we were together for six years before he died. Sometimes when it is right, you just know."

She's been married and widowed as well. What else had she been through?

"Sometimes though, you can be wrong," Nate added.

"I've done both, Nate." Annabel shook her head as she continued. "I won't make the mistake of giving my heart to someone who doesn't deserve it again. Once was enough."

Nate nodded and let her go. There was a lot more to Annabel than he thought. She'd been through so much. The emotions he could hear and see in her were enough to mostly ease his concerns. She really did care about Callen and that, as Hetty had put it, was a very good thing; especially if Callen actually let her in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

It was just after 9.30pm when Sam called a second time. The first instance had been to help with the security for Mary. They were all in the Ops Centre and Eric put the call on speaker when Sam asked for Hetty.

"Hetty, G's gone," Sam said with more than a touch of worry and annoyance in his voice.

"What do you mean, Mr Hanna?" Hetty's tone was extremely serious and all eyes turned to her.

"G. He left to follow Grace and he didn't come back. I don't know where they went, except the security at the hospital entrance thought they remembered two people fitting their descriptions heading to the car park."

Hetty moved closer to the phone console and spoke her question firmly and clearly. "Why didn't you follow him?"

"Aside from the fact that I was protecting Mary at the time, he has the keys to the car," Sam admitted reluctantly.

"And you obviously have the phone. How long has he been gone?"

Since they couldn't track him by GPS locator in the phone, they would have to try other ways. Eric was already working on it, typing away on the computer, hacking into surveillance feeds from the hospital and the roads leading away from it, hoping to get a hit on Callen and the car he was in. Unfortunately, Grace didn't have a car registered to her so it was going to have to be done by facial recognition or the good old fashioned way of checking the footage with their own eyes until they found it.

"About ten minutes, I guess," Sam replied.

"Mr Hanna, can you or can you not acquire entry into the vehicle?"

There was a slight pause before Sam spoke. "Break in?"

Hetty rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mr Hanna. Break in."

"I can."

"Good, because in the glove box, attached to the top under some strong tape is a spare key. Now, did Mr Callen take the I.D out of the car with him?"

"Yes," Sam confirmed, "the one he keeps under the driver's seat."

Hetty nodded and some of the tension left her shoulders. "Good, we can keep an eye on where he is going if he uses that."

"What should I do Hetty?" Sam asked.

"Get into the vehicle and then call me back," Hetty ordered and signaled for Eric to disconnect the call.

"So it appears that Mr Callen has slipped away from Sam, with Grace. Now we have a job to do to find him."

Hetty had kept an eye on Annabel during the conversation with Sam. She had watched the fear, frustration and concern flicker across her face and then watched the agent in her push that aside and focus.

"Eric," Hetty turned to him, "Monitor Graham Carlisle. That is the I.D that Callen keeps in the car with him as a backup. In the meantime, see if you can get a cell phone for Grace and try tracing it. It might give us an idea where they are going."

"Kensi and Grey should be back in about twenty minutes," Annabel said after she had looked at her watch and mentally calculated how long it had been since they had called to tell them they were on their way back. "We'll need more weapons, Hetty."

"What are you worried about, Annabel?" Nate asked. He too, had watched the change in her as the conversation went on.

"What if this was a set up? What if Grace _isn't_ Grace?" Annabel pulled her arm out of the sling, removed it and placed it on the table, as she looked at Hetty expectantly.

"Very well," Hetty nodded. "Come with me and we'll sort something out. Eric, the moment you find them, let me know. When Mr Hanna calls, tell him to find a place to go to that is easily accessible to the city, the airport and the freeway. Tell him to wait there for further instructions."

Annabel followed Hetty out of the room, leaving Nate and Eric looking at each other, concerned. With everything that had already happened, their nerves were quick to kick back in again, especially as they had no idea where Callen was. Nate raised his eyebrows at Eric and something about the look pulled Eric out of his daze and he turned back to the computer, keys frantically clicking as he tried to find something to give them a location for Callen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

When Hetty and Annabel returned, less than twenty minutes later, to the Ops Centre with Kensi and Grey, Eric filled them in on what he had managed to find.

"Hetty, the number I traced for Grace's cell phone is off, but the last number she called must have been right before she left with Callen, and it was to a number in Atlanta."

"To whom, Mr Beale?" Hetty asked with a touch of impatience. "Don't hold back."

"I don't know," Eric said quickly. "It's a burn phone, not registered to anyone and it's not on at the moment either."

Hetty turned to the agents in her midst. "Kensi, Grey, Annabel. Are you all ready to go?"

They nodded their agreement.

"Just tell us where, Hetty," Grey answered for them.

"I have a plane ready and waiting at Edwards," Hetty informed them. "Go. Wait there. If Callen is still in San Diego, you'll fly there otherwise, when we know where he is headed, you'll follow."

"What about Sam?" Kensi asked as she slipped her jacket back on.

"I'll have Sam on a plane if he needs to be and meet you wherever Mr Callen has decided he needs to be."

As Annabel was about to leave the room, Hetty called out to her.

"Annabel … Don't be too hard on him. I'm sure he is just trying to protect his family." At least Hetty hoped that was the reason he was with Grace; hoped that Annabel was wrong about the possibility of Grace being someone else.

Annabel turned back to Hetty. "I know, Hetty. He's just like Grey."

"Just like you," Hetty added.

"Let's hope not," Annabel replied. Because up until two weeks ago, she would have gladly taken a bullet for anyone she cared about in order to protect them, not really caring if it killed her in the process. Now, she had too much she wanted to live for again.

Annabel turned away and moved quickly to catch up with Kensi and Grey.

Hetty turned back to Eric. "Well Mr Beale, how are you doing finding where our elusive Mr Callen is?"

"Still working on it. I've found him on the surveillance cameras at the hospital and am running a program to follow the car he got in with a woman, who appears to be Grace. I ran her picture through facial recognition to be sure and it comes back a match for Grace Baker."

"Thank you and well done Eric. Please inform Annabel that you have positively identified Grace. I am sure that she will be relieved to know that detail."

Eric nodded and picked up the phone as Hetty walked out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Hetty returned to the Ops Centre with a cup of tea in her hand. Usually she didn't drink in this room but she needed a 'pick me up' and she needed to be here at the centre of everything.

"Hetty," Eric piped up as she set the cup down carefully. "Callen's I.D just came up on the passenger list for a flight to Atlanta. It leaves in ten minutes."

Ten minutes was nowhere near enough time for Sam to get to the airport and join them. Not wanting to bring attention to them, Hetty made the choice not to get Eric to stop the plane.

"Call Sam," Hetty ordered Eric. "Tell him to get to the San Diego base. A plane will be standing by. Then find me an address for that phone call to Atlanta."

Hetty paced whilst Eric did what was requested.

"This is as close as I can get Hetty. I've already sent it to Kensi and Sam's phones. Sam also received a text from G, just the word Atlanta. Looks like we're on the right track."

Hetty nodded and relaxed slightly at the knowledge that Callen had been in touch, even if it was such a brief message.

"Good," she said. "Run up a list of all the occupants and owners around that area, say two square miles. See if we get any red flags with what we've found out recently. I need to make some calls. I'll be at my desk if you need me."

"Hetty." Nate's voice was slightly hesitant.

"Yes, Nate."

"What's Callen doing?"

Hetty looked at Nate for a moment before answering. Nate could see the worry in her eyes, something he couldn't usually see so clearly, but considering everything they had been through the past two weeks, he suspected that Hetty wasn't quite back to being her usual self.

"Unless he is protecting Grace, I have no idea. Until he gets off that plane, I doubt we'll figure it out."


	47. Chapter 47

_A/N - Another chapter - next one will probably be early next week. Having some technical Computer issues so my computer is in the hands of my lovely personal technician (aka - the hubby). Enjoy and thanks once again for the support. It's been brilliant._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

**Chapter 47**

_**Callen and Grace**_

"Two tickets on the next plane to Atlanta please. Business class if possible," Grace said, handing over her I.D and credit card to the check-in staff at the airport. She looked at Callen. "You got a driver's license?" Grace asked him. Callen nodded and pulled out his.

"Thank you," said the woman at the desk. She processed the tickets quickly and handed them over.

"The flight leaves shortly, you'll need to make your way directly to the gate. Have a nice flight Miss Johnstone, Mr Carlisle."

Carlisle. He'd been close.

Grace looked at his ticket before handing it over.

"Carlisle?" she asked.

Callen shrugged. He suspected she somehow knew that Graham Carlisle wasn't his name and it probably had to do with him not telling her his last name earlier.

Grace pulled out her I.D, he was still sure it was fake, and they got expedited through security, after being reminded to make sure they checked their guns in on the plane.

Callen made a very quick stop by a shop in the terminal to buy a cell phone. He grabbed the first one that came to hand and whilst they walked to the gate, he loaded it up. The gate was just about to close when they got there, so he sent one quick text to Sam on Nate's phone, he didn't have time for anything else. 'Atlanta. G'. The rest of the details would have to wait until they landed and hopefully, by then, he would actually know what those details were.

"So who's paying for this?" Callen asked after they were comfortable and he was enjoying the Business Class luxury. He'd had it before but usually only when the cover dictated it, or as a very special treat from Hetty.

"Me," Grace admitted.

Callen looked at her and frowned. "Not work?" he asked curiously. Was she still going to play at being FBI?

"This isn't work, it's personal." Grace's voice caught on the last word, as she leaned back and closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry about your parents," Callen said gently.

Grace opened her eyes again and looked at him. He could see the shine to them from the tears she was holding back.

"Thank you," Grace said and closed her eyes again.

Callen saw her take some deep breaths as she tried to calm herself. Things were out of her control at the moment, there was nothing she could do to make the plane move any faster and he guessed that she was starting to feel the emotional effects of what had happened even more with nothing else to concentrate on.

"You should probably get some sleep," Grace said. "Make the most of the next four hours."

"What and miss out on the big screen personal TV?" Callen joked, trying to take her mind off things just a little.

"Personally, I prefer the all-you-can-eat ice cream bar, but whatever gets you through." Grace gave a slight smile as she turned and looked at him. The smile didn't really make it to her eyes but it was a good start.

"Ice Cream Bar?" Callen asked. "Please tell me you're not joking." He knew the perks of Business Class varied depending on the airline, but he'd never come across that before.

Grace grinned as she reached into the pocket beside her seat and pulled out a menu, handing it to him.

"I never joke about ice cream," Grace said seriously.

Callen looked at the menu and smiled. She wasn't joking. "Okay, so this is close enough to heaven for me," he said.

Grace laughed out loud at that and Callen glanced across at her. Much better. He liked the sound of her laughing. She seemed too young to be so sad and serious.

"Just be patient then, dear Angel." Grace rolled her eyes at him and gave another little grin. "We can't start the feast until we're off the ground."

"I can be patient. Just as long as the plane isn't delayed," Callen replied.

"God help us if it is."

The plane started to taxi away from the terminal and the flight attendants came around to get things ready for takeoff, checking that they were all settled. Once they had moved past them, Callen turned to Grace.

"So how old are you?" he asked, wondering if she would tell him the truth.

"Twenty seven. How old are you?" Grace asked back. Apparently she was sticking with her cover.

"Older," Callen replied.

"What? Shy about your age? Thought that was a girl thing," Grace teased lightly.

"Nope, an agent thing. Can't give too much away."

"So I'm giving too much away by saying I'm twenty seven am I?" Grace asked.

"Yep," Callen said. Not really, but it was a conversation starter and he hoped to find out a little more about her and why she had a fake I.D.

"So pray tell, what do you get from that?" she asked with a roll of her eyes.

"Well, you're still quite young. Given your position and clearance in the FBI, figure you have to be quite smart and talented, or you faked the I.D," Callen said. Especially since you are only twenty and not old enough to be working with the FBI, he added silently to himself.

Callen was impressed that there wasn't any sign of discomfort on her face at his suggestion she'd faked it.

"At least you didn't suggest I'd slept my way to the top," Grace commented.

"Why would I?" Callen asked.

"You wouldn't be the first," Grace replied.

"Did you?" Callen asked. She hit him.

"Hey, you brought it up," Callen protested. She was good. Whoever had trained her, taught her well for sticking to her story. He hadn't noticed any flicker or pauses in her responses. He wondered whether she did actually work for one of the agencies, even given her young age. Perhaps they'd bent the rules for her.

"So what else does knowing I'm twenty seven tell you?" Grace prompted.

"You're not married."

"That, you did not get from me telling you my age," Grace interrupted, wiggling the finger on her left hand that showed no ring or ring mark. "Not that it's any guarantee these days," she continued.

"So do you?" Callen asked

Grace frowned. "What?"

"Boyfriend. Husband. Have one?" Callen clarified.

Grace looked at him, eyes narrowed and a smile twitching on her face.

"Sorry to disappoint you but I'm not into older guys." Grace looked like she was desperately trying not to laugh at the look on his face.

"That's not what I was asking," Callen denied. Great, now she thought he was interested. Well he was, just not in that way.

"Sounded like it."

"I'm not," Callen confirmed again before adding, "I have someone." He felt a small smile start to spread on his face at that comment. He did have someone. For once it was real, not part of a cover.

"Okay, whatever you say," Grace replied, pressing the bell for the attendant. "We're up, let's eat. But this is definitely not a date okay?" Grace added not being able to resist teasing him, it was fun. It kept her mind of her parents and what she was about to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

It was six in the morning when they landed in Atlanta and picked up the rental car.

"Gonna tell me where we're headed?" Callen asked her from his position in the passenger's seat. Grace was driving this time. It wasn't that he hadn't tried, but she knew where they were going. She'd also paid for the car and been given the keys, which she had promptly pocketed in her jeans, making sure he couldn't get to them.

"Home," Grace replied.

"Home?" Callen frowned. According to Eric, Grace lived in Bakersfield in California.

"Not mine. My biological father's home," Grace confirmed as she checked the traffic before changing lanes.

"What? You think he is just waiting for you to drop in?" Callen asked. If everything was to be believed, this man was responsible for at least one murder. He was surprised that Grace thought he would be sitting at home waiting for someone to come to him.

"He will be," Grace said confidently. "From what I've heard he's not stupid. He couldn't possibly believe that either my grandmother or myself would just let him get away with it. He didn't kill her outright; he wanted us to know who did it. He wants this," Grace replied. He noticed her hands were gripping the wheel rather tightly.

If she was right… "We're walking into a trap, you know that," Callen told her.

"No, I'm going home. A place I haven't been to in seventeen years, to kill the man who killed my father and maybe my mother. Who made the last moments of my father's life hell. You, apparently, were coming along to drive," Grace replied, the last part with a serious amount of sarcasm and disbelief in her tone.

"Grace," Callen said, a pleading tone to his words, "This is crazy. We can't walk in without a plan."

He always had a plan, or at least backup. They weren't always the most well thought out ones, but they were something at least.

"I have a plan. Goes something like this. Hi Dad. Bye Dad. I'll let you fill in the missing detail in between. And just as a hint, it involves a gun."

Callen could hear the fury in her voice that she was trying hard to hide behind the sarcasm.

"Come on. What kind of security does he have?" Callen asked as he wondered what the chance was that she had any other weapons aside from her gun, which along with his, made all of two and he didn't have any extra rounds on him.

"Look _Graham,_" her tone clearly indicating that she still doesn't believe his name. "It doesn't matter. He's expecting one of us. He is waiting for us to come back, for whatever crazy reason he wants us to. He just won't be expecting me quite like this," Grace replied.

"But..." Callen started.

"You know what. Next order. Shut up."

Callen looked at her, saw the tension and thought perhaps he should, for a little bit anyway. She was doing the driving.

"Just give me an address and I will," Callen added.

"Why?"

"Funny thing called backup. Like to know I have some before going into life and death situations." Not that long ago he wouldn't have cared, too much, but now he had a whole lot more to live for, including her because the more he talked to her, the more he had a feeling she was his family.

"Fine," Grace said and rattled off an address. Callen contemplated asking for a name as well, but felt he might be pushing his luck if he did, so he pulled out his newly acquired phone and called Hetty.

"Mr Callen, as I live and breathe. You called," came Hetty's voice.

"Hetty, I can explain." Callen knew Hetty wouldn't be happy, but it wasn't so much Hetty he was worried about. Sam and Annabel were actually top of that list.

"And you will, in detail, in triplicate and in person, as soon as this is over. For now, tell me what you need."

Callen gave Hetty the address, the complication in regard to it being Grace's biological father's home and made sure Hetty understood that Grace wasn't exactly in a rational frame of mind. That he was trying to protect her as best he could, but it would most likely mean that he was just going to be tagging along and winging it. He needed backup if she could arrange it.

"Backup has already been sorted, Mr Callen. Mr Hanna, Miss Blye, Grey and Annabel are on their way as we speak. Thank you for an address, I will let them know exactly where to find you. We estimate they are about thirty to forty minutes behind you. CIA is enroute, however we are not sure of their timetable, only that they are moving as quickly as they can to your coming location. If you can delay Miss Baker's plans, in any way, that would be appreciated."

Callen smiled to himself. He should have known Hetty would be a couple of steps ahead, even without him telling her anything.

"I'll see what I can do Hetty, but no promises."

"Security has been sorted for Mary. She is still critical though," Hetty informed him.

"Thanks." At least she was safe even if the rest of his family wasn't.

"Be careful, Mr Callen. You don't know what you are walking into," Hetty warned. "I'll have Eric see what he can find out about the location you are headed for."

"I know. I'll be careful. Thanks Hetty."

Callen hung up and turned to look at Grace. She was still gripping the steering wheel tight. He didn't hold out much hope for being able to get through to her but he had to try; for all their sakes.

"Any chance you can put this off for a little bit? Give backup a chance to arrive?"

"This isn't your fight. I didn't ask you to come, or for your backup."

She hadn't but she was getting it anyway.

"Grace, please," Callen urged. "Let me help. Just give me half an hour. That should be enough time."

Callen watched her grip flex on the steering wheel as she considered it.

"We'll see, but I can't promise anything. If I wait, I might not be able to do this."

He'd take it. It was better than nothing. Callen sat back in the seat and remained quiet for the rest of the drive, his fingers mentally crossed that somehow he'd managed to get through to her, just a little.

Grace eventually pulled off the road. She sat there, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel.

"Grace?" Callen hoped she had changed her mind.

"I don't know." She shook her head. "I ... I'll stay here as long as I can, but don't count on it lasting much longer. If I don't do this soon, I might not be able to."

Callen could understand that feeling. The adrenaline would be pumping through her; her focus solely on what had happened and what she wanted to do about it. The problem was, the rest of it, the things that could go wrong, probably weren't making themselves heard in her mind. The longer she waited, the more those thoughts would start to seep through.

"Then don't do it. Leave it up to us to take him down," Callen said, hoping to persuade her to turn the car around.

"No, he'll slip through your fingers."

"How do you know that?"

Grace glanced over at him. "It's what he does. What his family does. My grandmother told me."

Callen frowned. "You believed her?"

Grace nodded and put her head back against the seat. "She showed me enough. An arms dealer; a ruthless, rich and slippery one."

So this was getting worse by the minute. That would have been a good piece of information to know and be able to tell Hetty about.

"He's what?" Callen shook his head in disbelief, as he pulled out the phone to call Hetty with this latest piece of information. Just as he had hit send on the number, the phone switched off - out of battery. That would be the problem with out of the box phones; you never knew how long the battery would last for unless you could charge it up. Unfortunately he hadn't thought about that on the plane.

"If she had evidence why didn't she bring it to the authorities?" he asked. The longer he could get her to talk the better. He hoped that Eric had been able to figure out that detail about Grace's father on his own.

"Because she didn't get it legally." Callen raised his eyebrows at that as she continued. "But it was enough to convince me she was telling the truth about him. To make sure I understood why we ran, why we could never come here, never visit some other places."

"Why did you have to run?" Callen asked. If her grandmother was who he was suspecting, his mother, maybe they could find her yet.

"He was bad. I know there is more that she hasn't told me, about what he does. They also told me that he hit me when I was little. I know they only wanted to keep me safe. I learnt what I had to, did what I had to, and tried to forget he existed. But he's made sure I can't anymore."

With a brief apologetic glance across at him, Grace started the car. "I'm sorry. I have to do this now."


	48. Chapter 48

_A/N - Thanks for the reviews and support - Sharebear, definitely not stopping there. Plenty more to go and hopefully you'll get all the answers._

_I did toss up breaking this one into two chapters, but it appears that I am not only addicted to LA FF but also to long'ish chapters!_

_Enjoy.  
_

_Disclaimer in chapter 1._

_.  
_

**Chapter 48**

.

"Sam!" Kensi called out when she saw her team mate walking towards them. They'd all been flown to an airbase in Atlanta. Hetty had a car waiting for them, but they'd had to wait for Sam, whose flight from San Diego arrived a little later than theirs. It was only fifteen minutes but it seemed like forever. They quickly made their way to the car, Kensi taking the driver's seat.

"Anything new?" Sam asked as Kensi manoeuvred the car out of the car park. Annabel and Grey took care of filling Sam in on what they knew.

"We have no idea how this is going to go down," Annabel added after the main details were given. Grace's emotional state was the unknown factor and, as she had recently experienced in herself, could lead to unpredictable behaviour. "All we can hope at the moment, is that Callen can talk her out of this, or at least give us a little bit more time to get there before they go in."

"What do we do when we get there?" Sam asked. He glanced at Annabel. He'd been wondering if she would want to continue to take the lead since this was still technically the same mission Hetty had called her in for.

"That's up to you," Annabel answered.

"Why me?" Sam asked.

"You and Kensi actually," Grey clarified.

Annabel shook her head obviously seeing the question in Sam's eyes. "Can't Sam. Too close to this right now. He was supposed to stay with you."

Sam could hear the concern in her words, could understand that her focus was a little off. He knew that feeling; what it was like to feel the pull of the worry over your partner, even though G was his partner in a very different way to her. He'd had some practice though keeping himself on track. He also knew G was going to be in a little bit of trouble, and not just from her! It wasn't so much that G had left him behind to face Hetty. It was that with everything that had happened, he'd gone without back up, knowing that someone wanted him pretty bad.

"You two know how Callen works best," Grey continued. "We'll get as close as we can to them at the house, assuming we don't beat them there, and then you decide what we do from there. Though Bel and I will be together."

Sam nodded. The more he worked with these two agents the more he liked them, and not just on a personal level. They didn't assume they knew best and were willing to trust him and Kensi, even with the short period of time they had known each other.

"Sounds good," Sam said. "I take it Hetty supplied us with equipment."

"Yep."

"How far behind them are we?" Sam asked with a glance across at Kensi.

"About half an hour," Kensi replied. "By the time we get there, hopefully only twenty minutes." Sam eyed the dashboard and saw that Kensi was definitely speeding.

"Hetty going to approve the speeding fines?" he asked.

Kensi chuckled. "Her words - Money is no object Miss Blye. Get there yesterday!"

"Sounds like pre-approval to me," Sam agreed.

They discussed some of the finer points of the mission and possibilities of what they might find when they go in; got themselves set up with weapons and, thanks to Eric's investigation, worked out how to get into the secured compound that was Grace's father's home. Unfortunately Eric hadn't actually been able to find anything out about the owner yet. That information had come from Callen when he had checked in earlier.

Kensi did better than expected and by the time they got there, they estimated they were only fifteen minutes behind Callen and Grace. Now it just depended on how long Callen had been able to delay her for, if at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Callen didn't say anything more. At least he'd managed a few extra minutes and Grace had stuck to the speed limit, so there was that. He knew Kensi wouldn't and he knew she would be the one driving.

They drove through the gates that, after a small pause, the guards opened without even checking their I.D. They walked straight into the house; no one stopped them. Callen's instincts were screaming at him that this was bad, but he couldn't do anything about it. He needed to protect Grace.

When she saw her father, Grace pulled out her gun and aimed it straight at him.

"Hello my dear Bianca … Sorry Grace. What brings you here after so many years?"

"You know what," Grace said. Callen could hear the tension in her voice and see it in the set of her shoulders from where he stood behind her.

"Perhaps you had better put the gun away so we can greet each other properly. I am delighted by your surprise return," her father said.

Grace took another step closer to him. "This is properly, and like hell you are surprised. You wanted this. I just don't know why," Grace almost snarled at him. Callen continued to stay where he was, making sure no one came up to take her out from behind.

"Grace, you know you won't shoot me. Just put the gun away." There was a cockiness to her father's tone that grated on Callen. He was sounded so confident that he knew Grace, yet from what Callen could figure out from the limited pieces of the puzzle, he hadn't seen Grace since she was three.

"You don't know me at all," Grace yelled, her emotions undisguised. She was angry, upset and scared. Callen hoped her father wasn't able to tell that last part. As Grace continued, she seemed to get more control on her emotions. "You killed my father. You shot my mother. You really think I'm going to let you get away with that?"

Grace held the gun steady in front of her. Callen was surprised at how steady. It looked like she had been trained and was fairly comfortable holding it.

"There's no proof. And ... I am your father," he taunted.

"No, you are not," Grace spat out with disgust and pain heavy in her tone.

"There is proof," Callen said, stepping out from behind her as the emotions crept back in to her voice and he tried to take the focus off her for just a little bit. At least the testimony of the mother would be close enough.

"Ah," her father said with a smirk, "the long lost Uncle. This is turning out so much better than we could have planned. Must have been a lovely reunion, Grace."

So it was true. Annabel had been right. But something didn't feel right. His earlier words to Grace about this being a trap came back and he couldn't help but wonder if the trap was for more than just Grace.

"A hell of lot nicer than this one with you," Grace said. Callen noticed her glance sideways at him as he came up beside her. She looked shocked.

"Grace really. Stop being such a silly little child and put the gun away." Her father stepped closer to her not appearing to be at all worried about the gun trained on him. "You know if you shoot me you'll never get away from here."

"What? You think I'm afraid to die? As long as I take you out with me, it'll be worth it," Grace said, with a small laugh. "My life to save you killing anyone else. Happy to oblige," Grace continued as she took another step closer to him. Callen moved so he stayed with her.

"Grace, don't," Callen said. He'd only just found her, and he wasn't going to lose her now.

"Don't worry Mr Callen, she won't do it. Family is too important to her."

"You are right. Family is important to me. And you ... You are not family," Grace said firmly and pulled the trigger.

Her father jerked back and then fell to the floor. Grace hadn't missed. He was dead. Callen saw it in his eyes as he fell. It was a look he had seen often; at times because of a bullet he had fired. As gunfire rang out in the room, Callen fired back with one hand whilst he grabbed Grace with the other and pulled her down behind the couch. Unfortunately, he hadn't been quick enough. He felt the pain in his arm as a bullet whizzed past and caught him. There was a loud shattering sound and then they both felt the pain as glass rained down on them and some larger pieces embedded in their arms.

Callen saw the grimace on her face as Grace reached up to hold her shoulder. He took her gun from her and checked his wounds quickly. Just a graze from the bullet thank goodness; nothing more than a scratch, plus a few smaller pieces of glass in his arm. Callen looked at Grace's shoulder which was now home to two reasonable large chunks of glass.

"Don't pull them out," he ordered.

Grace rolled her eyes at him. "I know."

Callen glanced around as he tried to figure out how to get them out of here. He moved to look around the couch, saw two men on the floor and another two coming toward them. Using both guns he took them down, just before gunfire rang out in another room and he ducked back to cover Grace. He heard loud voices yelling "Federal Agents. Don't move."

Familiar voices which brought a great deal of relief to him. Sounded like backup had arrived, so he turned his attention back to Grace.

Grace winced as Callen moved her hand away and took over applying pressure around the shards.

"You'll live," was Callen's verdict, "I've had worse."

There wasn't too much blood, though that was sure to change when they removed the glass, but hopefully, by then, they would have some medical help.

"So have I," Grace replied.

"Feel like comparing scars?" Callen teased her.

"Not particularly," Grace said as she closed her eyes. This hurt more than she thought it should. Perhaps it was all just in her head, mixed with the pain of everything else from today.

"Worried I'll win?" Callen asked her.

Grace opened her eyes and looked at him. "It's not a competition ... Uncle." She smiled slightly.

Callen looked at her for a moment, not quite sure how to respond to that. He decided it was time to clear the air a little.

"I know you are not really FBI, or twenty seven, so I seriously hope that there wouldn't be any competition at all."

Grace looked up at him and there was a shining of tears in her eyes. Callen frowned, not quite sure what they were from, because they weren't there a moment ago.

"Why didn't you tell me who you were?" Grace asked. "I never would've let you come here with me."

She knew about him? There was desperation and sadness in her voice that confused Callen even more.

"Why not?" he asked but before she could reply, Callen heard Sam's voice.

"G?"

"Back here Sam," Callen called out.

"Couldn't have waited for us?" Sam asked as he arrived with Kensi.

"Wasn't my plan. I was just following orders," Callen said, with a teasing smile for Grace in the hopes that it would make her feel a little less edgy if he showed he was okay with what had happened.

"You did well, didn't ignore any of them." Grace moved Callen's hand off her shoulder, putting hers back in its place.

"Are they all right, Sam?" came another familiar voice and Callen looked up to see Annabel. Grey was right beside her. They weren't looking at him, they were moving across the room toward a door on the other side.

"They'll live," Sam replied loudly. "At least for now," he added under his breath, though Callen heard it and glanced at Sam. Sam gave him a look that said it all and Callen knew even though he was forgiven for running off on his own, he was still in trouble with his partner.

The door flew open and three more men came barreling through. Callen and Sam ducked down ducked down to protect Grace, but the only shots that were heard were from Kensi, Annabel and Grey as they took the three of them down before they had a chance to fire. More people came in from the direction Callen's team had. CIA by the looks of the vests this time, except for one. Another familiar face that stopped and stayed in the room as the rest of them flowed through the open door to wherever it led, gunshots echoing as they did.

Annabel looked at Callen and he saw the relief settle in her eyes as she saw he was mostly okay, before she turned away and focused on covering the door with Grey, in case anyone slipped through. Gibbs joined Annabel and Grey after a brief look at Callen and a shake of his head. Callen replied with a small shrug and look that said, "What else could I do?"

He did wonder how Gibbs had been roped into yet another rescue mission for him.

"Go, Sam. You and Kensi get them out of here. We'll cover you," Grey said.

Grace moved to stand up and groaned as she stumbled against the couch, bumping her shoulder, on her way up. Callen moved to help but Sam beat him to it.

"You are brave, aren't you?" Grace commented to Sam, with a small grin.

"Figure you can't hurt me as bad, down an arm," Sam teased gently as he helped her stand up properly.

"Don't count on it."

"You'll have to show me what you're made of sometime," Sam replied as he held back a grin at the look on Callen's face.

"Back off Sam, she's too young for you," Callen said with a note of protectiveness in his tone.

Sam raised his eyebrows at Callen. "What? You think I'm hitting on her?"

"Better not be," Callen said.

Sam gave Callen a quick once over, noticed the graze, which was most likely from a bullet, and the small cuts and glass that would need to be taken care of. At least there weren't any actually holes in his partner this time, which was quite a relief considering the number of bullets that had been flying around the room.

"I wasn't. Not yet," Sam provoked Callen a little.

"Still here. Do I get a choice?" Grace asked.

"No," said Callen.

"Yes," Sam said at the same time.

"Grow up you two," Grace said with a roll of her eyes. "As I've already told G." She raised her eyebrows at the name, "I'm not interested in older guys. No offense Sam."

"None taken," Sam said with a small shrug.

"I'll take it from here Sam." Callen moved in to take over supporting Grace, grateful that his scratches and other minor injuries were isolated to one arm, leaving the other one free to do it.

"I don't need help okay," Grace protested as she tried to move away.

"Humour me," Callen said.

"Why?" Grace asked with a frown as she looked up at him.

A smile twitched on Callen's lips as he replied, "It's my first day as your uncle."

Sam glanced between the two of them. "What do you know that we don't?" he asked. He couldn't see any similarities between the two of them that jumped out and said they were related.

"A lot." Callen grinned as he slipped an arm around Grace as they started moving out of the room.

Sam lifted an eyebrow and looked at his partner, slightly frustrated. "Like?" Sam asked, reluctantly playing along. G would answer his question eventually.

"Did you know that in business class they have an all-you-can-eat ice cream bar?" Callen told him. Grace started to laugh but stopped when the movement hurt her shoulder. Callen looked at her, concern clearly evident on his face.

"Interesting. Gonna treat me sometime?" Sam asked.

"Depends. Stop hitting on my niece and I'll think about it," Callen said as they walked out of the house and started to walk to where there were a couple of ambulances waiting halfway down the drive.

"So I have to choose between the girl and all the ice cream I can eat?" Sam slipped into step on the other side of Grace, just in case he needed to take over. Kensi followed behind, with a CIA agent by her side and speaking quietly on the phone.

"Don't forget the comfy seat, personalised service and big screen TV," Grace added in a sarcastic tone.

"Ah, well then. Not much of a competition is it? Ice cream it is."

"Gee Sam, you really know how to make a girl feel wanted," Grace replied.

"Stop hitting on my partner, Grace."

Grace grinned cheekily at Callen and he couldn't help but return it.

They made it to the ambulance and Callen finally released her so they could sit in the back.

"Partner? Is he the one you were meaning? You didn't say married," Grace asked with a smile. Sam noticed the smile; it was so similar to G's. So perhaps they were related after all.

"Not married. Can't live with him. It's purely professional."

Sam snorted at that, unsurprisingly, considering the amount of time Callen spent on his couch. There were times when Sam felt like Callen did live with him.

"You? Professional?" Grace gave Callen a sideways glance as the ambulance officer came up beside her. "I'd like to see that," she said, biting her lip to stop her laughing.

The chatter stopped for a little while, whilst they were patched up.

"OW!" Grace almost screamed, breaking the silence, as the ambulance officer put something on her wound to clean it after removing the glass. She hadn't been ready for the pain.

Callen laughed, relief settling on him that she was all right, and alive even if she was hurt. It could have been so much worse. Her response just now had been so different from everything else she had shown so far today. Callen on the other hand was able to completely ignore the pain from his patch up job; just a few bits of glass removal and the graze. He'd definitely had worse.

"You sound like a girl," Callen commented.

"Well, just in case you hadn't actually noticed, I am," Grace pointed out.

"I'd noticed. Otherwise I'd have called you nephew. That, and no one related to me could possibly be so stupid as to name a boy Grace."

"You sure? I was named after you."

Sam burst out laughing. "So that's what the G stands for."

Callen glared at Sam and Kensi, who he spotted laughing as well. She'd obviously been busy reading lips whilst she continued her conversation. Callen turned back to Grace, not sure if she was teasing or not. The smile on her face suggested it was entirely possible she was.

"Please tell me that G doesn't stand for Grace," Callen asked just as Sam's phone rang.

Sam pulled it out, looked at it and handed it to Callen. "It's Hetty. She's all yours this time."

Callen answered it whilst he watched both Sam and Grace continue to laugh silently.

"Hetty, what can I do for you?"

"I have some good news. Mary's condition has stabilised and I have taken the liberty of running a quick DNA test on her," Hetty replied.

"How?" Callen asked, though then decided he didn't want to know. Hetty had obviously found a way that avoided him having to meet up with any needles. "Never mind. Let me guess. She is my sister."

"Yes," Hetty confirmed. "Whilst not 100% positive, there are enough indicators to suggest she is. A more thorough blood test is in the process but it won't be back for a while. May I ask how you know?" she asked.

"I've been getting to know my niece," Callen replied, looking at the girl in question. "She's a bit like me. Figured it must be in the genes."

"Heaven help us with two Callen's," Hetty replied. The light teasing tone in Hetty's voice made him smile. He hadn't heard that too much lately.

The way Grace had wanted to defend her family, the way she had remained cool'ish under the pressure of facing her biological father, considering what he had done. She had a cheeky streak to her that Callen was looking forward to getting to know in a relaxed environment. These were all something he could see in himself.

"Any chance she could come work for us Hetty?" Sam asked, after grabbing his phone from back from G.

"Why Mr Hanna? I believe she is a little young for that," Hetty commented.

"Could make life a little more pleasant around the bull pen," Sam said, just before G took the phone off him. It was starting to feel like a game of telephone tennis.

"Hetty, we might need a little help ensuring that Grace doesn't get into too much trouble," Callen added, with a glare at Sam.

Grace had a few problems she'd racked up recently. Namely the false I.D and impersonating a federal agent plus the relatively 'minor' issue of killing her father. He wasn't entirely sure what else they would find when they looked.

"Miss Blye has already filled me in on what happened. I will see what I can do to ensure our younger Callen doesn't suffer too serious a consequence. I am sure I will have something appropriate for you before your speedy return, Grace included," Hetty said, her tone firm, leaving Callen with no doubt that she was expecting all of them back in LA very soon.

"Thanks Hetty. One more thing. What's Gibbs doing here?" Callen asked.

"Who better to keep the CIA in line and make sure they didn't mistake you for the enemy?" Hetty replied cryptically before she hung up.

"So Sam, you want a business class ticket back to LA?" Callen asked as he handed the phone back to Sam.

"Might be nice." Sam gave a non-committal shrug as he spoke, though Callen could see the interest in Sam's eyes. "Any more catches other than not hitting on your niece?"

"You pay?" Callen suggested with a wink at Grace who grinned back.

"If I pay, there are no catches," Sam said with a quick glance at Grace. They both saw the grin drop as she flinched in pain as the medic continued patching her up.

"You know what, I'll pay," Grace promised. "Just please, at least for the flight, don't sit next to me. Sit on the other side of the plane and leave me in peace."

"Not gonna happen," Callen said with a shake of his head.

"Why not?" asked Grace.

"Well, let's see." Callen held up his fingers as he counted. "One, you're injured. Two, we'll call you a temporary member of the team since you helped us bring down a bad guy, so not going to leave you alone. Three, you're fun. Oh and four … You're family," Callen said the last one seriously, holding her gaze. Family – his family was growing rapidly these days. A smile spread on his face at the thought.

"Fine, can I at least sit next to her?" Grace asked, nodding toward Kensi who was standing a little bit away still talking to one of the CIA agents. They hadn't officially been introduced yet.

"Nope," Callen replied. He took her hand and helped her down from the ambulance.

"Again I ask, why not?"

"Uncle privileges."


	49. Chapter 49

_A/N - As always, thanks for the reviews and glad you seem to like G in uncle mode!_

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1 (On a side note - I can hardly believe that this story has been going for four months! You guys are awesome sticking with it for so long. Very glad I've managed to keep you entertained.)  
_

_Now, on with the show..._

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**Chapter 49**

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"G." Sam nudged his partner and pointed in Annabel's direction. "She looks mad."

Annabel was walking towards them, Gibbs and Grey by her side. Obviously everything inside the house was now sorted. Callen watched as she put the safety on her gun, slipped it into its holster at her back and continued toward him, her stride purposeful and tense. Grey said something to her and, though she was still too far away for Callen to hear her response, the look she shot Grey before turning back to look at him suggested Sam was right. She wasn't happy. Even seeing that, Callen couldn't help the small smile that came to his lips at seeing her again.

Grace's eyes followed the direction they were looking in and asked, "Who's she?"

"His bodyguard," replied Sam as Callen stood up and moved to meet up with Annabel a few metres away.

"You were supposed to stay with Sam," Annabel said. Callen easily heard the worry in her voice, drowning out the frustration, as she continued. "How is he supposed to protect you when you do something so stupid as to run off without-"

As smile danced on Callen's lips before he cut off her rant with a kiss; a most effective and enjoyable way of silencing her. Her mouth was open when his had descended on hers and Callen took advantage. He tasted her sweetness, teased her lips and had her melting in his arms very quickly; along with finding himself forgetting where they were for a few moments as his world narrowed to just the two of them. It had been too long since their last kiss; fourteen hours since he'd left her at the airport. It was the longest time he'd been away from her since they'd met and he had this odd feeling of coming home.

When he released her, Callen continued to hold her, one hand tangled in her hair, an arm around her waist. She was so soft and warm, her body gently moulded to his as she held him as well, her arms having found their way around his neck at some point during the kiss. Home. Callen smiled again. Definitely something he could get used to having in his life on a daily basis.

This time her voice was much softer, "Please don't do that again. You want me to keep you out of trouble and safe, then keep me with you," Annabel pleaded with him as she rested her head against his cheek briefly before she lifted it. She looked at the bandages on his arm. "I can't do that if I'm not around. Look what happens when I'm not."

"Sorry," Callen said, sheepishly. He knew she wasn't really mad at him, just worried. He couldn't blame her for that since he'd been a little worried there for a bit too.

Annabel looked at his face, shook her head and sighed with a small knowing smile. "You're not really, not exactly. You'd do it again even knowing you'd get hurt."

And, though Annabel wasn't ready to admit it out loud, it was part of the reason she loved him - that selfless dedication to protecting those he cared about.

"Couldn't let her go on her own. She is my niece after all." Callen tilted his head in Grace's direction.

Annabel glanced over. "Is she okay?"

Callen smiled at the concern in her voice. She didn't even know Grace but she was concerned anyway, almost as much as she had been for him. "Yeah," he said, "just a couple of scratches from the glass cutting into her."

So perhaps his description of the injuries was a little on the positive side, but it was close enough, and he felt it ease the tension in Annabel.

Removing his hand from her hair, Callen left his arm around her waist and together they walk over to join Sam and Grace.

"Bodyguard? What kind of bodyguard?" Grace asked mischievously once they had joined them.

Annabel blushed slightly and Callen grinned.

"It's complicated," Sam answered for them, as Kensi narrowly choked back a laugh as she stepped over to join them.

"Maybe to you," Grace replied with a shrug, "but to me, it looks like he's interested in a whole lot more than her guarding his body."

"She's his girlfriend too," Kensi advised before introducing herself.

"Grace," Callen's tone a warning when Grace opened her mouth to say something as her eyes flicked between him and Annabel. Grace looked at him and gave him an innocent smile. Callen's eyes narrowed at her, unsure of what that smile meant.

"Hi." Grace turned to face Annabel fully. "I'm Grace, his niece. Should I ask what your intentions are to my newly found uncle?"

Perhaps it hadn't been innocent after all

Annabel grinned. "I'm Annabel. And no, probably best that you don't ask that. Might embarrass him."

Callen looked at Annabel, eyebrows raised, a twinkle in his eyes, and a smile twitching on his lips as he pulled her closer. "But I will be later," he promised. She looked at him, a soft smile on her face and he bent his head slowly, forgetting everyone around them.

"Callen," a familiar voice interrupted them before Callen could finishing closing the distance for another kiss.

Callen turned around. "Gibbs. Nice to see you again."

"You too," Gibbs replied. Callen glanced at the man standing next to Gibbs and raised his eyebrows in question.

"Director Kenthurst. CIA." Gibbs introduced the rest of them to the Director.

Callen raised his eyebrows slightly. This was _the _Director of the CIA – out in the field. What strings did Hetty pull?

Kenthurst took a small step forward and shook Callen's hand before speaking. "I have orders for you and your team, Agent Callen. Including Grace."

"What would they be?" Sam asked.

Callen bit back a smile at Sam's tone. It was obvious Sam wasn't sure about Kenthurst. Given everything that had happened during the last two weeks, Callen had a feeling that any newcomer would get the suspicious treatment from Sam for a while.

"You are to return to Hetty at OSP," Kenthurst said. "She will take care of arranging a safe place for you to remain until this is over."

"Excuse me?" Callen asked, frowning. "We've got-"

"No," Director Kenthurst interrupted. Lowering his voice he continued. "This investigation is out of your hands. You are to stay safe. _That_ is your part in this. Safe and out of sight. We know what to look for; we have access to the necessary information."

"The Twelve," Callen concluded.

Kenthurst nodded. "Our resources are vast, and all in. We will find whoever is behind this."

Callen wanted to ask why he sounded so sure of that when they hadn't been successful before but he refrained.

"So what do we do now?" Kensi asked Kenthurst.

"A helicopter is on its way to take you to the airport, where you will board a military flight to LA. Hetty will have a security detail meet you at the airport and take you back to OSP. Then you _will_ stay put. All of you." Kenthurst looked at Annabel by Callen's side. "Including you, Agent Robinson. You and Agent Mason have the same orders. Stay put until this is over."

Annabel started to protest. Again, Kenthurst interrupted. "Agent Robinson, your orders come from your Queen. She understands what you have been through. Graham has informed her. She is sorry for your loss and knows this will be difficult for you to step back from, but it is an order. One she is willing to give you directly, if necessary."

Callen felt Annabel let out a resigned sigh on her breath.

"Fine," she agreed reluctantly. Callen looked at her curious. He had expected more of a protest from her. His was planned for Hetty because he hopefully knew enough buttons to push to get a little flexibility.

Annabel rolled her eyes. "I can't ... Can't disobey a direct order from her. Disobey, potential jail, basically life over."

"You know she wouldn't actually do that, Bel," Grey said.

"Maybe not, but she can. Not worth the risk."

"As is your order direct from your President, Agent Callen," Kenthurst continued. "This is serious. You do understand what is at stake don't you?"

"Yes, we know," Callen replied, "but so help me, if you don't get him and get him soon, order or not, I'll find him myself."

The look in Kenthurst's eyes confirmed that Callen had made himself perfectly clear.

"Just let us do our job and we will." Kenthurst was interrupted by someone giving him a message through his earpiece. "Now, let's go. The helicopter has just arrived."

As they followed, Gibbs walked beside Callen and Annabel. Callen's arm was still around her and Gibbs smiled to himself at the change in Callen. It was good to see his friend happy and comfortable with someone by his side. Good to see him caring about someone else and someone caring about him. Maybe it would make him a little less inclined to push his luck on missions from now on.

"So why are you really here, Jethro?" Callen asked.

"Hetty pulled some strings and got me on the CIA team as a liaison."

"You? Liaise with the CIA?" Callen asked, skepticism clear in his tone and the lift of an eyebrow.

Gibbs looked over at Callen as they walked. "What? Don't believe I can play nice?"

"You don't play nice with your own boss, let alone another agency," Callen retorted.

"Hetty was still a little unsure who she could trust. She asked for me to help out by joining up with them. She worries about you, Callen. You know that."

"If anyone else but Hetty had asked?" Callen queried.

Gibbs shrugged. "It was you, Callen. Do you really think I wouldn't have come?"

Callen left the question unanswered, because both men knew what it was. Instead he asked, "Have you found anything else back in Washington?" He was hoping the answer was different to the last time he'd spoken to Gibbs.

"No," Gibbs answered, clearly disappointed. "The team is going over everything again, this time with the CIA's help, but we don't think we'll find anything. Abby made sure everyone did a really thorough job." Gibbs chuckled a little. "Apparently she's been watching me a little more than I thought. She's been scaring them enough that they actually prefer to spend time with me at the moment!"

Callen smiled at that. He owed Abby a lot, for more than just what she was doing trying to find information for them. In particular, for what she did with Annabel's necklace.

They arrived at the helicopter and didn't have a chance to talk about the important things on the ride or the following flight. Just before boarding, Kenthurst ordered them not to talk about anything until they were back in the security of OSP. Callen had a feeling that the Director hadn't exactly informed his agents who were accompanying them back to LA of the exact nature of what was going on.

Callen had questions for Grace, but they could wait. If his assumptions were correct, and he was reasonably positive they were given everything that had happened today, then her grandmother was his mother and would at some point find Grace again, given what he had overheard on the phone call at the hospital. That meant he had a way to find her. He just had to keep Grace safe and be patient. If that meant waiting a few hours before he could ask her why she wouldn't have taken him with her, or who her grandmother was, then so be it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

The flight to LA was uneventful. They were all tired and it wasn't the most comfortable of planes. At some point or other through the flight all, except for Grace and Gibbs, were wishing for the MI6 plane. Unfortunately, due to a slight shortage of planes, one having been recently blown up, the plane had returned to London. Since all those protecting The Twelve were now on-board, they didn't need it as they could call on whomever to get them around. Annabel sat on one side of Callen, Grace on the other. Gibbs settled in on the other side of Grace, perhaps understanding how important she was to Callen. Kensi, Sam and Grey sat across from them.

Grace dropped off to sleep on Callen's shoulder a couple of times though her head would jerk up after only a few moments.

Callen had hold of Annabel's hand, their fingers entwined together. He was starting to get the feeling that this was going to be normal for them. He found that small physical connection to her comforting and … right. The thought warmed him inside that he was lucky to have found someone he felt comfortable being openly affectionate with.

So far, he wasn't in too much trouble with her. He knew she had been worried about him. He had noticed the fear for him in her eyes when he had first looked at her in the house, though she had hidden it fairly quickly. He hadn't meant to worry any of them, and he knew that they would understand, though he wasn't looking forward to whatever Hetty was going to make him do. He knew there wouldn't actually be any paperwork involved with this, but he was sure she would find some appropriate punishment to try and make sure he didn't do this running off on his own gig too often. He wondered how Hetty would react if he told her about his revelations - lone wolf to pack wolf. Wondered whether she would believe the change or not.

It was just after ten am when the plane finally landed in LA with a bit of an unexpected jolt that brought a hiss of pain from Annabel as they bounced back against the seat. Callen frowned as he realised she hadn't been wearing the sling at all. He hadn't even remembered that she should have been.

The two CIA agents with them kept them in their seats until the security detail pulled up at the back of the plane. They opened the doors to check the I.D of those waiting before they were escorted to the cars, one group at a time. Callen, Annabel, Grace and Gibbs were taken to the first waiting vehicle, an obviously armed agent standing by both vehicles. They got in and the agents returned to escort Sam, Kensi and Grey to the other vehicle. They waited for the agent standing outside to join them, but a click of the locks, gunfire and a hiss of gas was the first indication that something was very wrong. The screeching sound that followed was the second. Their hands went to cover their ears as the sound pounded on their eardrums, giving them no choice but to react that way, forgoing any chance to try and get out. Grace was sitting in between Callen and Annabel, staring in horror at the scene around her. It only took about twenty seconds before they all collapsed unconscious in the back of the SUV. The same fate occurring in the other vehicle to Kensi, Sam and Grey, whilst two CIA agents lay on the tarmac, bleeding.


	50. Chapter 50

_A/N - Sorry for the little chapter - I'm in the middle of trying to finish off an assignment that I need done by next Monday and sorting out details for holidays. _

_Oh yeah, I'm going away next week. For four weeks. But ... there is supposed to be internet access where we are going and I do plan on updating whilst we are away, assuming the internet is actually available. (I do actually find writing enjoyable and in most cases relaxing). However, I'm trying not to leave it at too big a cliffhanger before we go just in case. But now I'm wondering if perhaps I have already left it there. I was planning on posting one more chapter before we leave, once the assignment is done and dusted._

_But, if you don't mind how big a cliffy it is I might be able to squeeze another one out before we go. It's just if we don't have internet then you'll be left with that for about four weeks. So, let me know if you'd prefer not to have a huge cliffy or just want whatever I can out before we go and you'll still love me when I eventually get back. ;-)_

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

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**Chapter 50**

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Sam woke up to the smell and feel of cold fresh air and someone dragging him out of the vehicle. At least it felt that way but, had his mind been clearer, he would have realised it was more someone trying to stop him from falling out of the vehicle. Sam started to put up a fight but a wave of nausea hit him and he found himself on his knees throwing up whatever it was he'd last eaten which, in all honesty, he couldn't remember when that was, let alone what.

"Agent Hanna, it's all right. Hetty sent us. Do you know what happened?" a male voice came from above him.

"Who are you?"

"Agent Nolan. I work for OSP. I've worked with you before."

Sam struggled to his feet, with the help of Nolan and Gibbs. At least he was pretty sure that was who they were. His head was still spinning from whatever the gas was. He looked around to the front of the car.

"G? The others? Where are they?"

"Don't know," replied Gibbs, his voice not as firm and authoritative as normal. Sam figured from the looks of him, Gibbs had been hit with the same stuff. Sam frowned. Gibbs had been in the car with G. So why was he still here?

"There was only the one car here when we arrived," Nolan told them.

"Why didn't they take you?" Sam asked Gibbs as he looked the older man over and noticed the scrapes on his face.

Gibbs shook his head, "Don't know that one either. Woke up face first on the tarmac just now."

Sam noticed the ambulance officers treating the two CIA agents and he heard a groan from behind him.

Sam turned. "Kenz?" She was being held up by Grey; both looking about as bad as Sam felt.

"What happened?" Grey asked.

"Don't know. But G's gone. Annabel and Grace too I'm guessing," Sam said as he looked to Nolan who nodded his agreement.

"What happened? We thought they were you. I mean the good guys," Kensi said, her voice weak.

"We were here on time," Nolan confirmed. "Early in fact, but the plane must have landed sooner than expected."

"They were waiting." Sam frowned. "They were already here, because it didn't take them long once we landed to drive up. How did they know?"

There was confusion all around. Sam started to feel better and Kensi stopped leaning on Grey, obviously feeling the same.

Nolan shook his head. "I don't know. We've been monitoring the plane's progress since it left Atlanta, so we would be here before you landed, to make sure it was safe. Our last check in suggested you were still twenty minutes away and we'd just arrived at the airport."

"Damn," Sam swore. "That means someone knew we were coming. We've got to get to Hetty."

Nolan nodded and directed them to another vehicle. They got in, all staying together in the one car; Gibbs, Kensi and Grey in the back as Sam sat in the front, gun drawn and eyes firmly focused on Nolan who looked at Sam and nodded his understanding and acceptance of Sam's caution.

Thirty minutes later they were in the OPS centre. Hetty had made them all some tea and they were trying to figure out what had happened and where Callen, Annabel and Grace were.

Eric was scouring the airport security logs, trying to find anything about who the other men were. He managed to find a discrepancy in the access logs, which had taken their guys off the list and added four others, who had arrived and left early, before a change of shifts. The real OSP guys arrived after that. Since the list righted itself after that shift change and before their arrival, that would explain why the guards didn't notice anything. He never would have picked it up if the security logs weren't backed up every hour and just before every change of shift. Video surveillance was down during that time, in a way at least. It wasn't recording or showing what was really going on. Someone had hacked in and set it on a loop. A very precise loop that even when they knew what they were looking for, after Eric had found the feed, it was extremely difficult to find the exact place when the loop restarted. A sense of dismay settled in Eric's stomach at how detailed this was. Someone really knew what they were doing.

Eric had tried to find information on the vehicle that Kensi, Sam and Grey had been in but there was nothing. The VIN number had been wiped. The license plates matched up with a vehicle that had been stolen a week ago – a Mini, from Vermont. No help there at all.

He was now trying to track a dark SUV type vehicle that left the airport in the last hour and he wasn't having a whole lot of luck. It was almost impossible. There were so many possibilities and they had no identifying marks or a number plate to help narrow it down.

Determination flared in Eric. Dom - he'd been so close all that time. There was no way he was going to let Callen down. He wouldn't stop. He'd get Abby and McGee, he'd even get Cara working on it. She'd want to, Annabel was hers and the two teams had gotten close whilst in London, almost like one team. This was what he did and he wasn't going to fail again. Callen had said it wasn't his fault about Dom, but there was a part of him that still felt that way. This wasn't a computer game, there was no redo and there were three lives hanging on what they did. So pull everyone in, he did. And together, four of the brightest and best minds searched everywhere; in LA, the outskirts of LA, always expanding their search as the time went by so that the net continued to spread and hopefully catch them, or find something that would lead to finding them, alive and well.

Hetty's phone rang and she briefly glanced at it before ending the call and sending it direct to voice mail. It promptly rang again and, given that Hetty's reaction was the same, they all assumed it was the same caller. When it happened for a third time, Hetty finally gave in and answered it; her response to whatever the caller said was firm and very serious, a tone none of them would have been willing to argue with.

"Evelyn, I do not know how you got this number but now is not a good time to discuss why I wasn't at Bridge last time. Please stop calling. I will call you when I can."

Hetty stopped to listen and, as she went pale and reached for the table, Sam and Grey moved quickly to her side.

"What?" came a disbelieving voice - Hetty's voice. Only they'd never heard her sound so shocked or uncertain.

"You … You're … I need to sit." Hetty was stumbling over her words and that worried Sam even more than her paleness.

Eric jumped out of his chair and pushed it over to Hetty.

"Hetty, what's going on?" Sam asked, just as Eric's computers went a little crazy. Hetty held up a shaking hand to stop him asking any further questions.

"I understand, but we don't know where he is. He was taken at the airport. We're trying to track them now."

Sam and Grey were watched Hetty intently; grateful that even in the dim light they could see some of the colour coming back into her complexion.

"We might have something," came Eric's response to the noise from his computer. "This address is connected to the one in Atlanta. It's a slim connection but it might be worth a look."

"Does this address sound familiar?" Hetty asked and read out the address Eric had brought up on the screen.

"So what-"

There was another pause whilst Hetty listened again.

"If you are right, then he also has Annabel and Grace ... I will. Goodbye."

Hetty set her phone down on the table after disconnecting the call. She looked around at her team, took a breath and did her best to put her shock aside.

"Eric, I need you to contact Graham. Try and find out all you can about a former Twelve member called Peter. He was supposed to have died two years before they were disbanded. Graham will know who would have that information if there is any out there. In the meantime, track down everything you can on Richard Kingport. He is ... was Grace's biological father and supposedly this Peter's son. Any relatives, or property, anything that might give us something. The CIA may already have details on him after the clean-up operation in Atlanta. Perhaps start there."

Hetty then turned to the others.

"Sam, Kensi, Grey. You need to get whatever weapons you may need and head to that address. I will contact the CIA and get back-up as soon as possible. Hopefully Director Kenthurst can pull together something quickly out here for you. Go now," Hetty ordered as she turned from them to face Gibbs.

"Agent Gibbs, please, would you mind staying and helping co-ordinate from here?" Hetty asked.

Gibbs nodded his agreement. He hadn't worked with Hetty much before but seeing her that stunned by the phone call she had received had even him worried.

"Hetty, who was on the phone?" Sam asked before he would move a muscle. Whoever it was had shocked Hetty in a way he had never seen.

"Rebecca. Now Go."


	51. Chapter 51

_A/N - Another chapter, again slightly short. Assignment almost nailed! If everything goes according to plan, I might be able to pop one more chapter out on Monday. Or if we have net access, the next chapter will be up in the second half of next week, otherwise, I'll be back in a few weeks. _

_Enjoy and, as always, thanks for the reviews and support.  
_

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

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**Chapter 51 **

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After calling Director Kenthurst and making a few other necessary calls to get every scrap of manpower she could, Hetty left Gibbs with Eric to continue with the plan and went to her desk. She sat quietly whilst sipping a cup of chamomile tea. She needed a moment to comprehend what had been revealed with that phone call.

Hetty had always believed that she was quite intuitive, that she could tell when someone was lying or trying to pull the wool over her eyes, yet she had never seen this one coming. She thought back to the conversation on the phone.

.

_"Hetty," came a desperate sounding, yet familiar voice. Hetty narrowly held back a sigh of frustration and concern. This was her work number and she certainly hadn't given it out to this woman, no matter how good a friend she was._

_"Evelyn, I do not know how you got this number but now is not a good time to discuss why I wasn't at bridge last time. Please stop calling. I will call you when I can." Hetty was on the verge of disconnecting the phone in a rather impatient and rude way, at least as rude and impatient as one could get with the press of a button, but the tone of the woman on the other end stopped her. Evelyn's words were demanding, forceful and with a strong sense of desperation to them._

_"I need you to listen to me, Hetty. Whilst you know me as Evelyn, you also know of me as Rebecca Young."_

_Hetty felt the world spin at that last name as recognition and shock simultaneously slammed into her and she reached for the table. Sam and Grey moved quickly to her side._

_"What?" Hetty could even hear the shock in her voice, as she felt her fingers freeze around her phone, definitely no longer in the process of terminating the call._

_"I'm sorry Hetty. I don't have time to explain. You need to trust me. I am Rebecca. I need to speak to Callen. I need him to know who is after him."_

_"You … You're ... I need to sit." Eric jumped out of his chair and pushed it over to Hetty. Evelyn was Rebecca. Hetty was feeling like she was trapped in a dream or had suddenly slipped down a rabbit hole._

_"Hetty, what's going on?" Sam asked, just as Eric's computers went a little crazy. Hetty held up a shaking hand to stop him asking any further questions._

"_Hetty, I need to speak to him now," Rebecca repeated firmly._

_"I understand, but we don't know where he is. He was taken at the airport. We're trying to track them now."_

_"What? No." There was a thump, like someone had hit the steering wheel in a car. "Hetty you have to listen carefully. Peter. He was one of the Twelve. He was supposed to have died two years before the team were broken up. I don't believe he did. I believe he is after Callen and I believe he was the one behind the attacks all those years ago. His son, Richard Kingport, he knows about Callen. He knows he is connected to me. We need to find Callen fast."_

_"We might have something," came Eric's response to a noise from his computer. "This address is connected to the one in Atlanta. It's a slim connection but it might be worth a look."_

_"Does this address sound familiar?" Hetty asked and read out the address Eric had brought up on the screen. _

_"Yes, it's one of Richard's properties."_

_"So what-"_

_"I'm only about half an hour away from there," Rebecca said quickly. "If Peter is after what I think, then he's after me too. Hetty, Peter is evil and ruthless. If Callen is missing, then I'm sure he's the one behind it and ..."_

_"If you are right, then he also has Annabel and Grace."_

_There was silence on the phone for a few moments before Rebecca's voice came again, steeled with a determination and a fury Hetty hadn't heard a lot, yet it was familiar. It was what she heard in Callen's voice when things were really bad. "Richard is Grace's biological father. Look, I can buy you some time but you'll have to come to the rescue. I won't be able to do it alone."_

_"I will. Goodbye."_

_._

Hetty had known Evelyn for over three years and never once had she suspected that there was anything unusual about this woman. She'd had all of her bridge players background checked, thoroughly, before she had even joined the group as an outlet and a social contact group that was something normal. She couldn't ask her teams to try and keep something normal in their lives if she couldn't do the same in her own. She'd grown to like Evelyn quite quickly and had come to think of her as a trusted friend. She'd even lent on her on the odd occasion when things had felt like they were going to hell in a hand basket; especially when Callen had been shot and when Dom had gone missing and subsequently died.

All this time she'd been sharing things with her, telling her little tidbits about her team and she'd had no idea that she was in fact talking to Callen's mother. She'd been careful with what she had said, developed her own little code so it just seemed like she was talking about her little family trials. Evelyn had even come to the hospital with her a few times when Callen was critical, but she'd never said anything.

Hetty frowned, wondering how she had managed to do that. She thought back carefully. There had been something. There had been such shock on Evelyn's face when she had walked into Callen's room that first time, but Hetty had just assumed that Evelyn had never seen something like it, as the shock had slipped away quickly, replaced with concern and then Evelyn had been there and supported her.

Hetty's hand shook slightly as she took another sip of the tea as Nate came to join her.

"Hetty? Are you all right?" Nate settled himself in the chair across from her and watched her, concern evident in his gaze.

"Would you like some tea, Nate?" Hetty asked, not entirely sure how to answer Nate's question.

This time Nate agreed, though he went and poured it for himself, stopping her before she could get out of her chair. He sat back down with the delicate tea cup in his big hand and waited patiently for Hetty to decide to talk to him. When she seemed to have trouble starting, Nate gave her an opening.

"Rebecca. Callen's mother?"

Hetty nodded in confirmation.

Nate's concern for Hetty grew as she still didn't seem to be able to find her voice.

"You know her I take it?"

"Yes, apparently I do. For three years in fact."

Nate frowned at that piece of information, but kept his comments to the current set of circumstances.

"That was obviously quite a shock to you," he said referring as much to receiving a phone call from her as Hetty's discovery of their connection.

"Yes. Nate, I usually know what's going on all around. My spies tell me everything. Yet I missed this completely."

"From what you told me about Rebecca, she was extremely good at her job. I guess she hasn't let her skills slide."

Hetty focused more on Nate and tried to pull herself together.

"I background checked her, Nate. In three years she hasn't slipped up at all. Not that I noticed at the time anyway."

Nate could hear the confusion and disbelief still strong in Hetty's voice. "Were you close to her?" he asked.

"Yes," Hetty confirmed. "I felt like a she was a trusted friend."

"Perhaps she was."

"She wasn't who she said she was."

"Neither were you, I'm sure."

Hetty tilted her head in acknowledgment. That was true. She hadn't told Evelyn the truth about who she was either.

"She's obviously been watching Callen for a lot longer than the notebook suggested," Nate added.

"I believe she may never have stopped. She had my work number, Nate. I'm guessing she has been prepared for a while, just in case."

It had taken Hetty six months before she had given Evelyn … Rebecca, a contact phone number and it certainly hadn't been her work one. Hetty's eyes narrowed in concern as she wondered just how Rebecca had gained that information. The phone numbers changed every six months and most recently after the breach by Keelson, barely a few weeks ago. She pushed it aside, into her mental 'To Do' pile for later. If there was a security lapse, Hetty needed to plug it and the easiest way would be to ask Rebecca when this was over. She certainly couldn't afford to drag Eric off things at the moment to try and figure it out.

"Preparedness is definitely something I would put in her profile, given everything we know about her."

"Have you profiled her Nate? Can she really protect him until we can get someone there?"

"I'm not a parent Hetty, but if she has been protecting him all this time, then I doubt there is anything she wouldn't do for him." Nate knew how protective he was of his nieces and what he would do for them. He had no doubt that the protective nature of a parent would be even greater than what he felt for them.

Hetty held onto the hope that Nate's words brought to her, because there wasn't much else she could do now. She'd made the calls, done what she could. Others were now responsible for getting there and bringing them home. She knew Sam, Kensi and Grey would do everything possible to get them back.

"She never came back. I'm sure it is something Callen wonders about," Hetty told Nate.

"Let's hope he gets the chance to ask the question of her."


	52. Chapter 52

_A/N - Yeah, internet works though still rather jetlagged. But loving being away from the heat and in the nice white snow._

_Hopefully there aren't too many mistakes in this one._

_Thanks for all the reviews and favourites. I've gotten back to all of you that I can. Some of you don't have PM's enabled so I wasn't able to get back to you personally, but thanks so much for your support.  
_

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1  
_

**Chapter 52**

Callen woke to a slap in the face and his body being dragged up off the floor. His head was pounding, as well as spinning, and he was really getting sick of being knocked out. As he managed to focus his thoughts and his eyes, his reactions kicked in and he started to fight off whoever was manhandling him.

"I wouldn't if I were you," a voice came from across the room. "Unless of course, you want them to die now."

Callen froze at the threat and looked around, blinking rapidly to clear his vision a little more. Lying on a couch on the other side of the room was Grace, still unconscious with a gun pressed menacingly against her temple. He continued to look for Annabel and found her lying on the floor just behind him, in a similar position as Grace. The two men standing over them wore masks as did the one pulling him to his feet.

"What do you want?" Callen asked as he turned his head to look at the man across the room who had spoken the threat. There was no mask on him.

The man smiled; one of satisfaction with a strong hint of evil lurking there. Somehow it reminded him of the man from his nightmare.

"Do what I tell you and they won't get hurt."

"What do you want?" Callen repeated.

"Stop asking questions. Lift your hands above your head and stand still," the man ordered calmly.

When Callen didn't respond quickly enough, the man added, "I don't have a problem killing them."

Something about his tone had Callen believing the threat. He lifted his hands; he needed time to figure out how to get out of here so he'd play along for now.

Two of the men pulled Annabel to her feet, whilst the other continued to hold the gun to Grace's head, ensuring his cooperation. They held Annabel up right in front of Callen.

"You'd better hold onto her, Callen," the man warned with a hint of a sneer. "Don't want her to fall and get hurt even more."

Callen moved his arms so Annabel was encircled in them. He did his best to hold onto her. It was difficult, given that his hands were in cuffs just like hers, and that she was like a dead weight in his arms, but he managed.

"Hold on tight, they're about to let go."

Callen didn't need reminding. The two men pulled out some duct tape and strapped them together, arms locked beneath it as well.

Seriously, couldn't they be a little bit more imaginative than that? Handcuffs and duct tape. The only thing missing to make this the same as with Mitch was the chair – though perhaps they had a little since Annabel was with him this time. Imaginative or not, this was definitely going to be difficult to get out of.

The man nodded his acceptance of the bindings and sent the three men out of the room. He picked up a bucket and walked toward Callen and Annabel; a satisfied smirk slowly spread across his face as he did. A smirk that almost sent a shudder through Callen.

"Time for Annabel to wake," the man said and then threw some water from the bucket straight at her. Callen turned his head away quickly, but Annabel received the brunt of it straight in her face and she woke up abruptly, coughing and spluttering as water splashed over her face and into her mouth and nose. She was just getting over the first wave when the man sent the rest of the bucket at her. Callen felt the tension and panic hit Annabel as she started choking. The laboured and desperate sound of her trying to suck in a breath, combined with the panic he'd felt in her made him realise the memories this would bring back and that she probably felt like she was drowning. He pulled her closer, lowered his head and spoke softly in her ear, trying to help her calm down. Eventually Annabel could breathe again but Callen could still feel her heart pounding rapidly.

"It's okay," he reassured her. "I'm here. You're okay." Whether that was pushing the boundaries of a lie, Callen wasn't sure. But he knew that he would do everything he could to make sure she was. Make sure they all were.

"How sweet," came the man's insipid voice. He had his back to them now. "So delightful that Annabel has someone who cares about her. After everything she's been through, she deserves that happiness, no matter how short lived it is going to be."

"What do you want?" Callen yelled at him, the words the man said breaking through the tentative hold he had on his control.

The man turned around and, at Annabel's reaction, Callen forgot all about the question he had just asked. She was frantic as she tried to push them back away from the man as he progressed toward them, a gun now resting in his hand. Her breathing shot up as did the already too fast heart rate that Callen could feel through his chest where they were bound together.

"No," came the desperate cry from her lips.

Callen frowned, confusion settling on him heavily. She was usually more controlled then this – unless it was related to Zoe. Considering everything, that may be exactly what she was thinking if she felt as he did; that this was actually the man behind it all. When the man stepped close enough, Annabel kicked out at him, somehow managing to land an impressive kick to his stomach, causing him to step back slightly.

He raised his gun quickly to Callen's head and Annabel froze.

"Feisty aren't you," he said as his hand absently rubbed at the spot she had connected with before he continued. "However, try anything like that again, either of you, and the other will suffer."

He pulled the gun away from Callen's head and traced a line on the top of Annabel's thigh with the point of the gun. Annabel flinched harshly against the touch, a whimper escaping her lips as she pressed back against Callen as far as she could to get away from the gun.

"Right about here is a very good place to put a bullet. The femoral artery. Standing, no pressure applied, how long Callen, do you think she could last? Would you enjoy having her in your arms as she died? Standing there with you and you not being able to do anything for her? Would it be fun?"

Callen didn't answer; just tightened his hold as best her could on Annabel, who was shaking, almost violently, in his arms.

"And you Callen." The evil smirk returned. "I have a special gun; tiny, tiny bullets and trust me when I say I can put at least thirty of them in you, and keep you alive for a very long time. I know just where to put them for the most amount of pain and the least amount of blood loss. I've had practice. My current record is thirty five and I am more than willing to see if I can beat that."

He stepped away and moved toward Grace.

"Don't touch her," Callen warned.

"Oh, I won't. For now. But if things don't go according to plan, I will need her to tell me what she knows." He turned back to them. "I have plenty of ways to make her talk, as I'm sure you can both imagine."

Callen felt Annabel stiffen further in his arms and heard her moan, a sound filled with despair and pain. The man smiled in delight at it.

"You killed my daughter," Annabel spat out, a determination filling her voice forcing the pain out of it. "I will get you for that."

"Really?" He shrugged, obviously unconcerned. "Care to tell me how you are going to get out of your ... restraints? I would like to see what ingenious technique you are planning on."

"She was just a baby. She didn't deserve that."

"She was going to die anyway and I needed you."

"She wouldn-"

"Enough!"

For the first time, Callen heard something like real emotion in the man's voice.

"You killed mine," he continued. "You knew her as Sasha. She was my daughter. If Mitch had done his job in the first place and not let his hormones run away with him, she would never have been there."

The man turned to Callen this time. He stepped closer, raised his gun and placed it against Annabel, right over her heart. Callen wasn't entirely sure how she managed it but this time, she stood perfectly still.

"I'm still debating how you two will die," the man said thoughtfully. "One bullet shared between the two of you or two separate. Decisions, Decisions."

He walked around them, a contemplative look on his face. Callen watched him carefully, trying to figure out if there were any vulnerabilities to him. He seemed old but quite capable. Given that Callen was strapped to Annabel, anything he tried to get them out of this he would have to make sure she knew what to do as well. That was going to make things even more difficult. Callen was sure their captor wouldn't be interested in giving them some privacy to plan an escape. Thankfully, he knew Annabel was very good at improvising and going with the flow. He would just have to hope she was able to focus on that, that is, if he could figure out what to do.

"How does it feel, Callen?" the man asked when he returned to the front of them. "To know that she is about to die because of you?"

"No better way to go," Annabel said.

That earned Annabel a painful backhand to the face, causing the tears in her eyes to fall. She could taste blood in her mouth from the impact where her lip had obviously split. She kept her head turned into Callen, breathing in his scent, hoping it would help calm her down.

"I wasn't talking to you."

"I won't let you kill her."

The man laughed at Callen's declaration. "You think you can get out of that before I pull the trigger?" he taunted them.

Callen shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "Been in worse situations before."

Right now he couldn't really remember one, but he was sure he had been.

"I doubt it. Except perhaps Russia, but then you had Agent Gibbs, wasn't it, come to your rescue."

Was there anyone in his life that this man didn't know about?

"I honestly would have expected your mother to show up then. You were so close to dying."

"You know my mother?" Callen asked as he tried to keep the surprise out of his voice. Was this about her after all?

The man nodded. "I worked with her a long time ago. Your father, too. Shame about him dying, but he deserved it."

There was a nasty look on the man's face as he spoke about Callen's father.

"Why?" Was he the one who had been behind the attack on them?

"They left me for dead in a war zone. He should have died back then."

"My mother?"

"Your mother." He smiled. "Yes, such a beautiful woman. Blinded by him though. She couldn't see what he really was."

"What was that?" Callen was pleased that he couldn't hear the desperation in his voice that he was feeling. This man knew his parents, there was so much he could find out if only he could keep him talking and not do anything stupid. It would also give the others time to find them, if they could. The more time the better, because he knew Sam would be doing everything to find them, even if it meant ripping LA apart brick by brick. Kensi would be right beside him as would Grey.

"A reckless foolhardy man who didn't know the first thing about protecting those he loved. The number of times he almost got her killed." The man shook his head in disbelief at an obvious memory. Callen wasn't entirely sure if he could believe him though. Given what he had already been told about his parents that bit of information just didn't feel right.

"But he didn't," Callen stated. "Obviously he was better than you say."

"You have smart mouth don't you?"

Callen shrugged as best he could. "Works for me."

The man stepped closer.

"You think you're clever, slipping out of all the situations you have been in. But you're not. You were just lucky."

Lucky was good. He was happy with that.

"Lucky's better than dead," Callen replied. "How did you find us in Washington at the apartment?"

It was time for him to try and get some information out of this man. Annabel seemed to be settling in his arms. He could still feel her heart racing but the shaking had subsided considerably and she seemed more capable of holding her own weight. Which, hopefully, also meant her head was clearing from whatever drugs they'd shot them up with, so she should be able to work with him to find a way out of this situation.

"It wasn't hard. Who do you think set up Keelson with his computers and data storage? I have money Callen, and resources, and I know what to look for. Last minute bookings made with untraceable cards that had never been used before. It sent up a big red flag saying 'Look at me!' It didn't take a lot to match up the two that were made almost simultaneously after the time that you left wherever it was that you killed Sasha."

"We didn't kill Sasha. When we left, she was alive."

"Can you prove it? Mitch told me how he found her when he called to tell me of his failure."

"Guess you should have picked your recruits a little better since so many of them failed."

The man raised his eyebrows, apparently unaffected by Callen's taunting of his failures.

"But in the end, I didn't fail," he stated simply.

Callen did have to concede that the man had a point. They were here, caught, and he was the one in control.

The man smirked. "It was so easy to get into the airport security and make the changes, play with the information feed so that the plane was seen to be later than it really was. Too simple really."

"Why are you doing this?" Callen didn't care anymore about the desperate tone that was seeping into his voice. He just wanted answers.

"Revenge, money, power. Why does anyone do things?"

"How did you know we were on that plane?"

The man focused back on Annabel ignoring his question. At least Callen had managed to keep his attention off her for a little while, giving her that time to calm down.

"You know Annabel, it was such as shame that you had to get involved in this mess. If Grey hadn't been successful you would never have had to deal with any of this."

The tension that had eased in Annabel came flooding back ten-fold and Callen was confused about where this was going.

The man continued his subtle assault. "I must say he was rather determined not to leave you behind. Unfortunately, I don't have a head count for how many of my men Grey killed before I had to leave. By the way, how is his cheek?"

Callen froze, understanding slamming into him about Annabel's reaction. It had nothing to do with Zoe. That was what she had focused on to keep some form of control. This was the man who had tortured her. The one who had haunted her nightmares for so long, who they had worked so hard to erase the image from behind her eyes that night. And here he was, standing right in front of her, tempting her with revenge for that. Plus, adding insult to injury; he was the one behind Zoe's death. He felt her trembling increase and her heart rate shoot back up. His arms tightened around her in reassurance as he felt the fury surface in him. His mind kicked into overdrive as he desperately tried to figure a way out of this seemingly impossible situation.

The man grinned at their reaction, obviously enjoying himself. Like she said he had before.

"Now all we need is the final player in this delightful scene; the reason for all of this."

There were footsteps in the hall behind the man and his smile grew. They all turned toward the door and looked as a woman walked through it, gun in hand.

"You want me, let them go," she demanded firmly.


	53. Chapter 53

_A/N - Thanks again for all the reviews, favouriting and alerts. Hope you enjoy this chapter. _

_Special thanks to angelprincesslilac who has beta'd this and the next couple of chapters for me. She's done an amazing job checking over continuity for this lengthy story. She's been a great encouragement and support and help with the improvement of my writing and stories. It always amazes me that she is willing to do so much for someone she had technically never met!_

_As always though, mistakes are mine since I've made some changes since.  
_

_Disclaimer in chapter one  
_

**Chapter 53  
**

"You want me, Peter. Let them go," the woman repeated firmly.

Callen heard a soft gasp from Annabel as the woman spoke and his eyes drifted down to the top of her head. He was grateful that the focus was now off her, hopeful that she would have some time to settle. The good news was he now had a name to go with the face. It didn't give him a whole lot but it was a start.

"Rebecca. You've arrived. Finally coming to your son's rescue. "

Callen's gaze went back to the woman. His mother? Could she really be here? Could that be her? She had brown hair, was tall. From this distance she looked almost his height. She looked younger than he would have expected. That could be partly to do with not having any noticeable grey hair and that she didn't exactly look fragile, standing there holding a gun with just as much confidence as he did.

"I'm sure he would have found a way out without me." Rebecca's eyes remained focused on Peter. "Let them go."

"Your confidence in yourself is amazing, always was. Do you really think that I'll just let him go? What better way to make you suffer than to watch him die."

Had this all been about Peter finding his mother? He'd said it was about money, power and revenge.

"You are a fool if you think that I would ever allow you to do that," Rebecca spat out angrily.

"How do you plan on stopping me?"

Rebecca aimed the gun more accurately at Peter, who simply raised an eyebrow at her, appearing to be not at all concerned.

"Really? You think it is that simple?"

Peter took one step closer to Callen and Annabel. Callen saw Rebecca tense, but she kept the gun focused on Peter, as well as her gaze. Callen wanted her to look at him, to see if there was recognition in her eyes, or if he recognised something in hers. Though he could understand why she wasn't; especially if she was trying to protect them. Peter seemed to be the kind of guy who wouldn't let a chance go by and if she lost focus, he was sure to pounce.

"Killing someone is never simple. Even killing you," Rebecca replied. "But you could never understand that." She shook her head slightly. "It was all just a game to you, a game where you didn't feel anything."

"Which was one of the very reasons why I was chosen for the group. Now what was yours? I never did find out what was behind them choosing you."

"And you never will."

Peter stepped up close to Callen and Annabel, placed the tip of the gun right over her heart. Annabel stiffened and pulled back into Callen, his arms tightening around her again.

"What do you think, Rebecca? Should he share a bullet with her, like you almost did with Caleb? Or should I do it one at a time and let them 'enjoy' the moment as one slips away and the other watches." Peter tilted his head to the left and right. "Hmm, but then there is the dilemma of which one dies and which one lives to watch."

"I won't let you kill them," Rebecca said as she stepped closer, determination hardening her tone.

"You don't have a choice."

Another masked man walked into the room behind Rebecca and, before Callen had a chance to warn her, he placed a gun to her head.

"Hand over your gun Rebecca, or Annabel here will have a bullet in her and your son can watch helplessly as she dies slowly, and painfully, in his arms."

Rebecca finally looked at Callen and he saw his own eyes looking back at him. Eyes with a look that seemed to say she'd failed, yet there was still a glimmer of hope in them. She slowly lowered her gun and the man beside her took it easily from her fingers. Her lips moved and Callen was able to read them. "I'm sorry."

"Now," Peter said, "One bullet or two, Rebecca?"

She didn't answer.

Peter turned and looked at Callen for a moment before he spoke again. "What is it about the men in your life? There isn't anything special about them yet both of you were, and are, so willing to die for them. How do you feel Rebecca, knowing the woman who loves your son, and would die to protect him, is going to die with him?"

Peter turned back to Rebecca as he asked the question.

"You think they aren't special? You're wrong. They are. Very special. But you don't have the ability to see why because you are nothing like them and cannot see what we can. You cannot see the good in them. You cannot appreciate the way they care about those they love. The way they protect what is right. You could never see that because you could never understand it."

Whilst Callen listened to his mother's reassuring words, he took advantage of Peter's attention being off them and moved his head closer to Annabel's and kiss the side of her head softly. "We'll find a way out of this. Just be ready."

Annabel nodded slightly and Callen was reassured that she was okay, at least mostly. He was sure she must be feeling like she'd been thrown back into hell right now.

Peter continued talking to Rebecca, almost as if Callen and Annabel weren't there. It gave Callen a chance to look around and see what they could do, but there wasn't anything nearby that could help them, considering they had duct tape and handcuffs to contend with.

"If you hadn't been so quick to try and save Caleb, things would have been so much better."

Callen's attention was brought more fully back to the conversation with the following words from Peter.

"Caleb was the one who was supposed to die. You and I could have been together."

Callen frowned as he tried to make sense of the conversation and he noticed the tension increase in Rebecca. It was like that information was new to her.

"Aside from the fact that I didn't only try," Rebecca said, "I succeeded, no. You and I would _never_ have been together. Is this what all this has been about? Are you really so delusional that you thought I cared about you?"

"I would have protected you." The emotion kicked into Peter's voice and it was with that sign from him that Callen realised Peter had been in love with his mother. There was definitely more to it than revenge for being left behind.

"I wouldn't have let you be out there in the field, in danger. Caleb was an idiot for allowing you to do such dangerous work."

Rebecca shook her head and Callen saw the fleeting look of loss and love mingle in her eyes as she spoke about his father.

"Caleb trusted me. He allowed me to be who I was, not some ideal of how a woman was supposed to be or how she was supposed to behave. He's a better man than you."

"He's dead," Peter spat out in a tone that was full of derision and unhealthy pleasure at the words.

"Even dead, he's better than you will ever be," Rebecca pronounced. Callen had no doubt she meant every word of that statement. The love, the certainty, the faith that he heard in her voice. Somehow, it gave him hope. Hope that whatever was in him, whatever made him who he was, came from someone good.

"Your son is just like him." Peter looked back to Callen then. "Foolish, putting himself and those around him in needless danger. Though he does get his smart mouth from you."

A smile came over Rebecca's face. It was the first time Callen had seen it but for some reason it seemed familiar. Was it from the mirror or was there a part of him that remembered her? He couldn't be sure.

"Pleased to hear it," she said. "I'm sure it's come in just as handy for him as it has for me."

Peter snorted in ridicule. "I'm surprised it hasn't gotten him killed before now."

"My son, as you put it, is just like his father. Which means he is resourceful and talented. Not to mention having at least nine lives. It also follows that he is a better man than you."

"Shut up," Peter yelled and Callen tensed. As much as the words were ones he always craved to hear, that he was a good man, he didn't really think it was a particular smart idea to get Peter mad. Mind you, he couldn't say much since he'd come close to doing the same thing before Rebecca had arrived.

Rebecca glanced at the two of them, her gaze settling on Annabel for a moment longer before she turned back to Peter.

"If she loves him enough to be willing to die for him, then I'm a very lucky woman to have a son who has managed to become someone who deserves that."

"You had nothing to do with how he turned out," Peter taunted her. "You think you can take-"

"Shut up Peter." The anger now flared in her eyes and her voice. "I may not have been there for him, but it wasn't my fault. I would've if it had been safe. But it wasn't. Because of you."

"You didn't even know I was still alive," Peter mocked her.

"You're wrong. I've known for a long time. Known that you were alive and what a lying, manipulative, traitor you are."

"Really? Yet you did nothing to take me down. How exactly did you discover that I was still alive?"

Callen's mind was whirling with all this information but he couldn't piece anything together yet. All he knew though was that things were bad and so far, he hadn't come up with any ideas on how to get them out of this. Mentally he crossed his fingers that Hetty was about to pull off some miracle and find them. That Sam was going to come walking down the hallway and take down the bad guys and rescue them. Callen focused back on the conversation with the hope that he could learn a little more about Peter and perhaps, with a slim amount of the luck that had previously been mentioned, even talk their way out of this.

"When we destroyed the cell, your handiwork was all over it," Rebecca explained. "How could I not notice? I looked for you. I checked every body to make sure you had been taken down. Checked every survivor, before we shipped them out. I wanted to be the one to put a bullet in your head. Because if you really were behind it, you had betrayed everything we swore to protect as part of The Twelve."

Peter made a slightly mocking click with his tongue. "But I wasn't there."

"No, you weren't."

"If you knew I was still out there, why didn't you come after me?"

"I didn't have the resources after we were closed down."

"Ah, yes. You took a few casualties and The Twelve was disbanded."

There was something in Peter's tone that had Callen wondering if Peter had anything to do with that. Had he been behind the failed mission that had taken them down? Just how far did this all go? What else had Peter done to them?

"Few casualties?" Rebecca repeated, pain heavy in her voice. "Is that what you call it? They were family."

"Family?" Peter scoffed. "As if you know the meaning of the word. You dumped your children and ran off. Have you really thought all this time, that you actually took us down?"

Rebecca stiffened as did Callen as he wondered what other bombshells were about to be dropped.

"You never took us down," Peter stated bluntly. "We took you down. By the time you came in, guns blazing, what you took down was a dummy operation. No one there knew that though. They all thought it was real. We'd already moved the entire operation, changed everything, moved into a different market, different tactics. It had taken us the entire two years but we did it. The men were given orders; take down as many of you as they could, however they could. Who do you think leaked the information? Let it get out there that something had gone down that shouldn't have? I knew once they shut you down, you wouldn't have a chance to come after us again."

Peter finally stepped away from Callen and Annabel and moved closer to Rebecca. Peter reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. Callen saw the barely restrained flinch at the touch.

"If only I had known who I had seven years ago," Peter continued. "Henrietta Lange, one of the ones who helped you run that day."

Had Peter been the one responsible for Hetty's torture as well? That thought hadn't crossed his mind until that moment. Callen was getting a sense of déjà vu. He was getting so much more information but just ending up with more questions.

Rebecca shook her head. "You wouldn't have gotten anything out of her."

"Don't count on it." Peter looked back over to them. "Annabel here can tell you how difficult my newer methods are to withstand. Though, I must say she did an excellent job. Someone trained her very well to keep her mouth shut."

An evil smirk made its way onto his face. "You should be proud, Annabel. Even your MI6 colleague you were attempting to rescue didn't resist as much as you. Admittedly, he died before we got anything useful out of him. I guess it is somewhat true that women have a higher pain threshold. Given more time though, I'm sure I could have gotten something out of you." He seemed to be considering it for a moment before he added. "Maybe I won't kill you just yet after all."

A violent shudder went through both Annabel and Callen, though for very different reasons. Annabel's was pure fear, whilst Callen's was rage at the thought of Peter doing anything else to her. He wouldn't let him. Never again would Peter touch her or terrify her. He would find a way out of these damn restraints and kill him; because there was no other option. His mind buzzed as he tried to figure it out whilst still keeping track of the conversation and monitoring Annabel's state, which again, faced with those threats had deteriorated slightly.

"Hetty wouldn't have told you anything, because she knew nothing," Rebecca said, drawing Peter's attention back to her and away from them.

"She knew the names of your children."

"No. She didn't."

There was silence for just a brief second, but it felt longer. Peter tilted his head thoughtfully.

"So, Brittania made the serum work? Well, well. That was something I didn't know."

Peter stepped closer to Rebecca, traced his gun over her cheek and down her neck. She didn't flinch at all this time. She held her ground, just like she'd been trained to do so long ago. It didn't matter that inside she was distressed and her mind was working overtime to try and find a way to get them out of this, alive. She would not show that emotion to him. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"Tell me Rebecca," Peter continued to taunt her as he left the gun resting against her pounding pulse, "how does it feel, being in the same room as the son you never bothered to look back for?"

"Oh, I looked back. I never stopped. I watched and waited to make sure you didn't get anywhere near him."

"Yet I have him now." Peter turned to look at Callen, the gun leaving her neck as he did. Callen watched the relief fill her eyes and saw her take a steadying breath whilst Peter's attention was on him. "I also came so close to having him in that apartment in Washington. What were you doing? Having a holiday?" Peter returned his gaze to her as he asked the question.

Rebecca smiled. "I was in the room down the hall." She looked at Annabel and Callen saw a gentle reassuring look on her face for her, almost like she could understand what Annabel was going through. "I hope the jacket was warm enough," Rebecca continued.

Jacket? Callen finally understood Annabel's reaction to Rebecca when she had walked through the door. She recognised her. Callen didn't because he hadn't done anything except run through the apartment looking for another exit, whereas Annabel had spoken to her.

Rebecca turned back to Peter. "Your lackey's were quite hopeless at their job. You always did underestimate women. Only sending three men to get them." She shook her head, as she mocked him. "Did you really thing Annabel would be protecting him if she wasn't able to handle herself? I must admit I was disappointed that you didn't come yourself. Though that was probably to be expected. You were never fond of actually getting your hands dirty. You preferred the planning, the instruction and the supervision."

"Whilst Caleb was happy to get the blood on his hands," Peter said. "Do you even know how many kills he tallied over those years?"

Rebecca refused to look away from Peter's gaze as she answered. She was not ashamed of what they had done, or the reasons behind their job. She never had been and she certainly wasn't going to let this traitor make her feel that.

"To save innocent people from the likes of you, of course he was willing. We all were. And I'd be happy to hazard a guess that it is less than you, especially if you count all the indirect deaths from your work." There was a momentary pause before Rebecca added, "And the children."

There was a slight tremor in those last words from Rebecca and Annabel's breath caught as well. Callen didn't even want to think about what she had meant by that.

Peter briefly glanced at Callen before he continued. "Did you even know about all the times your son's life was in danger? Or were you just happy to sit back and watch someone else rescue him?"

"I always knew," Rebecca admitted forcefully. "I also knew he had people who cared enough. I have always been close by. You think I've spent the last thirty six years doing nothing? MI6, CIA, DOD, FBI. I was finding ways to make sure I could keep track of him."

"You never worked with DOD."

"Not that you knew of."

"How did you know where we were in Washington?" Callen asked, interrupting them. She'd been there, been awake at that time of the morning. At the time he hadn't even considered it odd that someone else was awake, mainly because he hadn't realised what the time was until they had arrived at Gibbs' house.

"Shut up," Peter ordered Callen.

"I had a friend," Rebecca said, ignoring Peter's order to finally speak directly to Callen for the first time, "who let me know how to find you. I have been close, Callen. Closer than you could ever imagine."

Rebecca turned back to Peter. "Why? At least explain to me why you have been looking for me all these years. Why you followed every one of my lives? Why not any of the others? What are you going to get out of this?"

Callen's suspicions that Peter had been the reason she had stayed away seemed to be correct.

"As I told your son. Revenge. Money. Power. You left me for dead; you didn't even try and save me."

"You took a bullet to the chest, you were bleeding too much for us to be able to help. They were closing in, we didn't have a choice."

"You left with _him. _You left with Caleb." The jealousy was heavy in Peter's tone.

Rebecca frowned at him.

"What did you expect? You knew our mission, you knew what we did and you knew that we couldn't risk anyone taking us alive. How did _you_ survive?"

"They were my people. They saved me."

Rebecca paled. "Your people?"

"Yes." A chuckle came from Peter at her expression. "You have no idea how funny it was to try and infiltrate the CIA only to be hand-picked for such a clandestine group with such power. My father and I laughed over how well it had gone. The kind of information I was able to pass back to him about things. The access to all the information we could possibly want to enhance our operation. That mission was supposed to have Caleb die, the surveillance fail and then I could direct things away from our operations."

"You were a traitor the whole time?" Rebecca couldn't keep the disbelief out of her voice this time. Nothing had prepared her for that.

"Yes." Peter sounded so proud of himself with that one simple word.

"You recorded everything we did, all those lives we made. You knew everything."

The wheels clicked in Rebecca's mind. The fury rose at how much Peter had taken from her. Her husband, her children, the rest of her life without them, their lives with her or Caleb. She didn't care that a man held a gun to her head. She tried to calculate how much time it would take her to get to Peter, what she could do in that small moment before the inevitable bullet went through her, to ensure that Peter died with her. If only she could be sure that it would keep Callen safe she wouldn't hesitate, but she couldn't.

"Yes, at least until they closed you down," Peter said, sounding extremely pleased with himself. "After that things got a little tricky. But I came close to finding you a few times."

"Why just me? Why not the others?"

"Revenge, my dear. The others didn't leave me for dead."

"What else are you getting out of this?"

This was what Callen really wanted to know too. He hoped she would have better luck getting a decent answer; hoped she could get some information that, if they managed to get out of this, would give them something to go on to stop him.

"Money. Power. What do you think will happen when the information about what The Twelve did gets released?" Peter paused for a moment to let that sink in for all of them. "For six years now I've been buying and stockpiling all sorts of weapons. There's a shortage on the market at the moment. But when everything crumbles after that information gets out, so many countries and groups will desperately want weapons. They will be willing to part with extraordinary amounts of cash to be able to protect themselves, or attack those responsible. Money beyond your imagination."

"You already have money," Rebecca said, confusion evident on her face now. Obviously all of this was getting to her and she was having trouble hiding her emotions now.

"True, but I have a granddaughter I never knew about." Both Peter and Rebecca's gaze slid to the still unconscious girl lying on the couch. Callen was confused, unsure if Peter was referring to Grace or someone else. "You know how expensive girls can get. Maybe she'd help me with the family business, given that my son is dead. At her hands no less."

"What?" Rebecca asked.

"Richard is dead. Grace shot him."

The wheels whirled again in Callen's mind. Some of them finally clicking into place. Grace. Peter was Richard's father and Grace's grandfather. But how did Peter know that Richard had been shot by Grace? No one else who had been in the room at that time had survived. Was there a leak in the CIA? Because aside from his team, they were the only ones there. Unless he had men there who'd managed to get a message out before they were all taken down. Callen hoped that was the case because he didn't want to think about another traitor in their midst. He needed to know.

"How did you know that?" Callen asked.

Peter glanced over at him and shook his head.

"How do you think? Nothing happens in my organisation that I do not know about. I watched the whole thing. The CIA think they are superior with their so called jamming devices, but they are easy to get around if you know what they are going to use. How do you think I knew to take Annabel as well? Your little scene outside the house in Atlanta, the way you kissed her and stayed close. It was obvious that you cared, and that suited me just fine."

"How did you find me?" Callen asked. Peter had known about him for at least five years. Because that was how long Mitch had been working for him and keeping an eye on Annabel.

"Just over six years ago you were at a weapons deal with my son."

Callen's mind went back but he couldn't place Richard on any of his missions.

Peter continued. "He had a surveillance camera on him and I recognised you. You have your mother's eyes but look like your father. We pulled out of that deal and then started looking into who you really were."

Callen vaguely recalled a couple of deals that had been aborted but couldn't be sure which one Peter was talking about.

"It took Keelson about eight months to finally get a positive I.D on you, one that would actually tell me a little something that wasn't an alias for a job. It wasn't long, not really especially when you consider how long I've been trying to find your mother."

Peter turned back briefly to Rebecca. "He had a lot of trouble finding the real you. But Corine and Jeremiah helped with that."

Rebecca gasped in shock as that information cleared up whether their deaths had been natural or unnatural.

Peter turned back to Callen, still smiling at his latest bombshell. "I have a great deal of patience when it comes to important things," Peter continued, "I worked out my plan and checked out everyone connected to you. Discovering Hetty and Annabel's connection I approached Mitch. Perhaps not my wisest move, but in the end it paid off. Keelson continued looking into everything about you and those you spent time with, those you cared about, your history. It took a long time, but I was patient. So I took my time, planned your demise. In multiple ways, because one thing I am not, is foolish enough to believe that one plan is enough."

Peter returned his attention to Rebecca. "Enough. It is time to watch your son and his love die. One shot I think. One bullet through one heart."

Peter turned, raised his gun placed it against Annabel's heart ensuring there was no chance of missing and smiled. "Say goodbye to your mother and your love, Callen. If you are lucky, you might see them on the other side."

Callen felt every ounce of hope sink. There was no way out this time. Any movement on their part would be too slow to do anything more than make it more painful. He'd failed. The man who had hurt them all was going to get away with it. But there was one thing Peter couldn't stop, that he couldn't take away even with the bullet that would take their lives.

Callen whispered in Annabel's ear, "I love you."

She turned her head into him, "I love you too." They both closed her eyes, remembering better times and waited.

The gunshot echoed around the room, followed closely by a resounding thud on the wooden floor.


	54. Chapter 54

_A/N - Just a short one this time, so as not to keep you hanging too long. Again, thanks to angelprincesslilac for betaing. Next chapter should be up in a couple of days. Assuming I don't do anything crazy on the snowboard!  
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_Disclaimer in Chapter one._

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**Chapter 54  
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Callen was the first to open his eyes. The thud shocked him, though not quite as much as the absence of pain. He looked down and saw Peter, lying on the floor with blood seeping from the wound in his head. One shot. One very accurate shot. That was all there had been. That was all that was needed to have the monster lying dead on the floor in front of them.

Callen heard Annabel's sharp intake of breath as she opened her eyes and saw the same scene. His arms loosened around her, just a little, as relief set in. His eyes went to the door. Rebecca and the man who had been holding a gun to her head were standing there. However, the gun wasn't pointed at Rebecca anymore but in their direction. Callen blinked slowly, not entirely sure what had just happened. His mind tried hard to grab some logical explanation.

The man pushed Rebecca deeper into the room. He then turned, closed and lock the door, before he pulled his mask off and faced them.

"Renko?" The name slipped from Callen's shocked lips.

"At your service," he replied with a typical Renko grin as he hurried over to them. Rebecca moved directly to Grace. Renko quickly cut the duct tape holding them together and handed Callen a key.

"Sorry mate, you're going to have to get out of that whilst I block the door."

Renko returned to the door and dragged a desk in front it. Callen unlocked his cuffs, pulled off the tape and then turned Annabel around to do the same for her. He looked at her face as he did. She was so pale.

"Are you okay?" Callen asked. He really hoped she wasn't about to faint, not that he would blame her, but he really hoped she could find the strength not to, at least until they were somewhere safe.

Annabel gave a shaky nod. It didn't do a lot to reassure him and he slipped his arm around her waist once they were completely free, just in case. It would be a lot easier to keep her up, rather than picking her up from a heap on the floor.

"Rebecca, is Grace awake?" Renko asked.

"No, not yet."

"Everybody near that wall, away from the window," Renko ordered them as he moved quickly to pick up Grace and carry her over. He placed her on her feet and Rebecca helped to hold onto her as Renko pulled out his phone.

"Renko what's-" Callen started to ask. Renko cut him off with a shake of his head and a look, as he spoke into the phone.

"You out there? … Yep, that'll be us. Do it. We don't have much time."

Callen listened carefully and could hear the rush of footsteps outside in the hallway, the banging on the door and then the gunfire as the door started to splinter. Annabel jumped at the sound and Callen pulled her closer.

Renko pocketed the phone, looked over at them. "Don't look at the wall with the window okay? Trust me."

They all turned their heads away and Renko stepped around to help shield Grace.

A loud explosion echoed through the room and, as the dust started to settle, they looked and saw the light coming in through the hole that had just been made.

"Grandma?" came Grace's soft voice.

"Got to get out of here," Renko ordered. "Think you can save the family reunion for a while?"

Callen and Rebecca both look at each other and nodded.

"Let's move then."

Callen moved his arm from Annabel's waist to her hand and pulled her quickly toward the gaping hole in the wall. She moved with him easily which reassured him. Renko followed, helping Rebecca with a still groggy Grace. Outside there was a black van waiting and, as they stepped out of the rubble, the rear door slid open. Sam and Grey reached out to help them get in quickly. Grey slipped into the front with Kensi to give them more room after a quick but thorough glance over Annabel. The door closed behind them and Callen sat down on the floor, just as Kensi pulled rapidly away in a squeal of tyres. Annabel fell against him and his arms encircled her as they went round a corner sharply. Callen could feel Annabel's harsh breathing and had heard the whimper of pain she couldn't quite control as she had landed on her shoulder against him.

Callen settled her more comfortably in his arms and held on tight. Her head dropped back against his shoulder, her eyes closed. He could see the tears clinging to her eyelashes and placed his lips against the side of her head in a gentle, lingering kiss. Her head tilted a little to him and she opened her eyes. He could see the grief and pain in them and kissed her cheek.

"It's over. We're safe," he reassured her.

Annabel nodded and looked up at him again.

"Over." She nodded again. "Finally."

Callen smiled gently at her and his lips found hers, just a touch, but it was enough that when he pulled back she had a small smile on her face and the pain wasn't quite so dominant in her eyes.

Renko rolled his eyes at them. "Why do you always get the pretty girls, Callen?"

"Probably because he's better looking than you," Sam answered.

"I'm more charming than you." Callen grinned at the look that was appearing on Renko's face.

"He's more talented than you." Sam again.

"He kisses better than you," Kensi added with a quick grin over her shoulder at Renko, obviously not able to resist seeing his reaction to that comment first hand.

Callen felt Annabel start to shake and looked down. He grinned as he saw she was trying not to laugh and he whispered in her ear, "Don't even think about trying to find out if Kensi is right."

Annabel looked up at him and smiled. "Why would I even consider it when I've already got the best?"

"Enough already," Renko said, holding his hands up in surrender. "Let's just get somewhere so these two," Renko waved his hand in Callen and Annabel's direction, "can be alone before Hetty has to dock my pay for a vehicle detail."

Annabel smiled at Renko, who couldn't resist returning it. He had to admit Callen had good taste, even given her current state – the split lip, the faint cut on her head and the tiredness that made her look so drained - she was still beautiful, if you liked blondes that was. He was more partial to brunettes.

"As much as I would love that," Annabel glanced at Callen who grinned and raised his eyebrows suggestively, making her smile bigger and the pain slip just a little further back in her eyes, "It's not exactly the number one priority at the moment," Annabel continued with a brief glace over at Rebecca.

Everyone understood exactly what she was meaning. Callen needed answers and that was most definitely the priority.

Rebecca smiled her thanks.

Callen then turned to Renko. "What were you doing there?" he asked, grateful but curious.

"I was working another job, not too far from here. Hetty pulled me off it when they figured out where you were. I slipped in, figured out what was going on and let Hetty know. I heard Rebecca arrive and followed the guy when he went to take care of her. Lucky for us, this Peter was into keeping faces hidden."

Hetty and her miracles. She'd done it again.

"Thanks," Callen said sincerely.

"Don't worry about it. We're even now."

Callen grinned and shook his head. "Nowhere near even."

Renko was about to protest that when Callen added seriously, "I owe you. Big time."

Renko hadn't only saved him; he'd saved Annabel, his mother and his niece. That was going to take a lot of payback.

"What happened back there? As we were leaving?" Callen asked. He'd heard shouting and more gunfire just before the van's door had closed.

"CIA moved in once we had you secured," Renko explained. "They didn't want to move until we were sure we had you because they had no idea what was inside. Even Eric couldn't get into the surveillance systems. I think I only managed to slip through and not be noticed because he already had you and he wanted Rebecca to be able to get in. Pretty sure his men had orders to stand down and let it happen. Then we had to find another way out to keep you out of the line of fire, knowing there would be chaos once they realised things weren't going quite according to plan. Hetty would have murdered us if we'd let anything happen to either of you."

"Hey," Kensi protested loudly from the front. "There's no _we_. It was all you, Renko. You were the one in there."

"Yeah," Renko retorted. "But you were the one who decided to blow up the building!"

Grey and Sam both chuckled and Sam added, "Be thankful we didn't go for her original idea which was to drive right through it."

"How did you know which room we were in?" Callen asked Sam.

"Tracked Renko's phone, infrared gave us the number of people in the room. That was the only one with anyone restrained. Took a chance and set things up to blow, hoping we were right."

Callen dropped his head slightly to rest against Annabel's. His heart was still hammering in his chest and he could only just believe that they had managed to get out of there… alive.

Renko looked over at Annabel and Callen. "You know Callen, I heard rumours you had a girlfriend but I didn't believe it."

Callen smiled as he moved his head so he could look down at Annabel, not that he could see her face, which was nestled into his neck, but just because she was there, she was safe. He took a moment to assess how she was doing; her breathing had settled and she wasn't shaking. All good signs.

"Everything about these last two weeks has been pretty hard to believe," Callen admitted as he looked up at Rebecca who was sitting there holding Grace close. "I have a feeling it's not ready to stop yet."

Rebecca looked at him and smiled tentatively but she didn't say anything.

"Tell you what Callen," Renko offered as he relaxed back as best he could against the wall of the van. "I'll bring the beer and you can tell me all about it next time I'm in the office." He had a feeling there was a whole lot more to this than Hetty had time to explain.

"Deal," Callen agreed.


	55. Chapter 55

_A/N - Another beta'd by angelprincesslilac._

_Just wanted to say thanks for the amazing support on this story. I still find it awesome to look at the number of reviews (379 at this point) that it has and how consistent some of you are at reviewing each chapter. They really make my day and help encourage me with this story._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_Enjoy._

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**Chapter 55**

They walked into OSP; Callen with his arm around Annabel and Rebecca with hers around Grace. Grey and Sam were at the rear with tired but relieved and happy looks on their faces. Their team, their family, was safe – finally. Kensi and Renko were bickering, as usual, after Renko had flirted with her on the drive back and had the courage, or audacity, to actually ask her out. Sam followed that with the comment about Kensi having had three dates with the same guy recently which had prompted a pout from Renko and the bickering that followed as to why Renko didn't stand a chance.

It only stopped when they saw Hetty standing there waiting for them with Gibbs, Nate and Eric close by her side. There was a huge look of relief on the men's faces but Hetty was closed off, at least until she looked at Callen and Annabel, which was when Callen saw the relief flicker just briefly across her features before she tucked it away behind the professional Hetty face.

"Welcome back Mr Callen. Annabel."

When Hetty looked at Rebecca, Callen felt the tension in the room shoot up dramatically. He frowned and glanced between them, trying to figure out what was going on.

Hetty tilted her head slightly as she considered Rebecca.

"Rebecca, or should I call you Evelyn? Which is it these days?"

"Call me whatever you feel comfortable with, Hetty. I am sorry I couldn't tell you," Rebecca said as she let her arm fall from around Grace and stepped toward Hetty. Hetty took the tiniest of steps back from her as she did. It was so small that it was almost unnoticeable, except that she was surrounded by six extremely talented agents and a psychologist and all of them noticed.

Callen tensed. Something was definitely going on that he wasn't aware of. He knew Hetty had met his mother, but she didn't remember. Why had she called her Evelyn? Callen glanced at Gibbs and Nate. Nate gave him a slight shake of his head and mouthed the word, 'Later."

Hetty turned her attention to Callen and the others. "Mr Callen, Grace. You will be pleased to hear that Mary is doing better."

"I want to see her," Grace said as she moved pleadingly toward Hetty. "Please."

"I understand," Hetty nodded. "The doctors believe if she continues as she is, she will be stable enough to move sometime tomorrow. I have made arrangements for her to be brought to an excellent facility here in Los Angeles as soon as it is safe to do so. However, Grace," Hetty shook her head gently, an apologetic look on her face, "you won't be going to San Diego to see her. For now, you are all still under protection until the CIA has confirmed that this is over."

Annabel tensed and Callen felt it from where his arm was around her. He tightened his hold, just fractionally, as he asked the question he knew she was thinking.

"It is, isn't it? Peter's dead. He was the one behind it." Callen looked at Hetty, waiting for her answer.

"With Peter dead, as well as his son, and if the CIA are doing their job properly then yes, it's over," Rebecca answered instead.

Callen looked back to Hetty for addition confirmation, his attention having gone to Rebecca with her answer.

"Yes," Hetty agreed, "Rebecca is right. Director Kenthurst has his teams following up to make absolutely certain. They will be working around the clock to get to the bottom of this, as well as to take down and clean up what is left of Peter and Richard's operation. But yes, I believe that it is over."

Relief flooded through them all, even if it wasn't one hundred per cent confirmation. The confidence in Hetty's tone was enough.

"Mr Callen, Annabel and Grace. You all need to be checked over by the doctor. Nate will take you through."

Callen glanced across at Sam. He was worried about Hetty. The tension in her regarding Rebecca was still obvious to him. Sam nodded his understanding and Callen didn't need anything more. He knew Sam would watch Hetty. He also saw the look of concern in Grey's eyes and it reminded him that it was entirely possible that Hetty was just as important to him and Annabel as she was to Callen and his team - family.

The three of them followed Nate. Eric returned upstairs with Kensi, Renko and Gibbs to keep tabs on the investigation, whilst Grey and Sam discretely stepped away from the two women, staying close though not quite in hearing range, just in case Hetty needed them.

Hetty walked over to her desk and, after a brief pause, Rebecca followed and sat down in the chair across from her.

Hetty looked up. She watched Rebecca, not entirely sure what to say. This woman sitting in front of her was a stranger, even though she had known her for three years.

"I'd do it again Hetty."

"Lie to me?" Hetty felt defensive and tried to reign in her emotions. The effects of the last two weeks were really starting to hit home right now. So many things had happened; so many people had been hurt, killed, or almost killed. Her own had been in so much danger and she had no one to take it out on. No one except the woman in front of her. A woman who had lied and deceived her for so long; who seemed to be the reason behind her family being in danger.

"You lied too," Rebecca pointed out calmly.

"You were my friend. I trusted you." It took a lot for Hetty to admit that considering everything that had happened.

"As are you." Rebecca paused to let those words sink in. "Hetty, I did what I did to protect him. Just as you did."

Hetty wasn't entirely sure why, but she took offense to the comparison between herself and Rebecca. She was nothing like this woman in front of her.

"You are his _mother_!" Hetty exclaimed with a note of disbelief and distaste in her tone. "He's been wanting to know you for so long and you were right there under my nose all along." Hetty shook her head and her eyes narrowed at Rebecca. "Do you feel anything for him at all? How did you manage to not say anything in the hospital? Your _son_ was lying there dying."

Rebecca sat back in her chair for a moment and Hetty saw the pain flash across her face, the nervous swallow and the deep breaths that Rebecca took to gain control of the emotions Hetty witnessed swirling in her eyes. Hetty bit back the apology that was on the tip of her tongue for being so harsh. Rebecca had slipped past her defences, made her way into her life, at Hetty's own instigation. That was what had thrown her into a tailspin. That she had no suspicion whatsoever about Rebecca/Evelyn. Not one skerrick of doubt about this woman who had lived lie after lie all her life.

There was determination and resignation in Rebecca's tone when she finally answered. "Letting you know, or him know, who I really was. It wasn't an option. I had one thing, and one thing only, to make sure I didn't fail at in my life. To protect what was left of my family. No matter what the cost."

"But to stand there and-"

"Hetty." Rebecca's firm word stopped her. "I had no choice because there was no way I could let him find Callen."

"Who?"

"Peter."

Hetty frowned. All this pain, agony, loneliness for Callen was because of one man. To Hetty that wasn't a good enough reason. Especially considering what Callen was capable of. If they'd know who was after him, they could have ended this sooner. The resources as part of the protection detail for The Twelve would have more than covered a manhunt that went worldwide. All the years Callen had spent alone, wondering who his family was, who he was. It could have been prevented, or at least minimised, if only she had been willing to tell them. Hetty couldn't understand why she'd kept it to herself, why she hadn't come to them. Especially if she knew who was after her. That was what they were there for.

"You didn't think that telling us who might be after him, or you, would be a good idea?" Hetty asked, only narrowly keeping her tone civil. "We could have done something."

Rebecca shook her head. "You wouldn't have believed me. He was supposed to be dead and I had no proof. Everything I had was based on suspicion or familiarity with the way he worked. I had no concrete proof and if you'd tried to find Peter, he'd have known I was behind it. He would have looked even harder, stepped everything up, covered his tracks even better than before. He's been out there for so long. I don't know the full extent of his resources, I haven't been able to get close enough, but I know the huge fortune that was backing up their operations. I know Peter well enough that there would have been a personal one somewhere too."

"That's not a decent excuse. We had the backing of The Twelve's resources."

Rebecca had to have known what that meant. She'd been there at the end, she knew the details, knew how much had been left in trust to protect them, not only the money but the manpower they could pull in if they had something to go on. There was a niggling doubt in her mind, given the difficulty and the risks of pursuing an investigation without enough reason to. Was Rebecca right? If she had come to them with her suspicions, would they have believed her? And if they hadn't, would that risk have just put her in even more danger, having brought her out of hiding?

"Without the knowledge or talents of The Twelve to use them effectively," Rebecca continued. "If they'd kept us on, we'd have been able to find him."

"You weren't twelve anymore." Hetty's anger drowned out those small doubtful feelings and was getting the better of her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sam and Grey inch forward closer to them.

"No, that's true," Rebecca concurred. "We weren't, but we still had the full talents of The Twelve available. We'd cross-trained to make sure that if we lost anyone we would still be able to do our job and have some access to all the skills."

"Your _job_!" Hetty shook her head. "Is that what you have been doing all these years? Your job? Which one? The Twelve or The Mother?"

"Enough Hetty!" Rebecca said sharply. "I was protecting Callen as best I could." Rebecca's voice had gone cold with the attack on her. "I was protecting him from Peter … The one who had you seven years ago."

Hetty went pale at the words and Rebecca's voice lost its edge. "I'm sorry Hetty. I'm sorry for what happened to you. I'm sorry I had to tell you that."

"Peter? He was…" Hetty trailed off as Rebecca nodded confirmation, a look on concern coming across Rebecca's face that Hetty remembered well. From when Rebecca had supported her those times in the hospital with Callen and after Dom had gone missing and died. That was her friend – the woman she trusted.

"Hetty?" Sam and Grey moved quickly to be by her side when she'd paled noticeably and they'd witnessed the shudder even from across the room.

Sam sent a glare Rebecca's way which Hetty noticed. She put a reassuring hand on his arm, though it wasn't as reassuring as she had hoped considering it was shaking. Sam's hand went over hers automatically and she took great comfort from the big ex-SEAL. She took additional comfort from Grey as well; his hand now resting on her shoulder.

"Sam, it is all right. It's not Rebecca's fault. Just some more startling information."

Hetty looked at Rebecca with a new understanding, all traces of anger and frustration gone. She didn't have a chance to say anything more before Nate came around the corner. She saw him take in the scene in front of him, but he didn't ask any questions, though she knew he would at some point.

"Rebecca," he said, "Callen has asked if I can take you to my office. He'll be finished with the doctor soon and would like to talk to you."

Rebecca stood up and nodded to Nate. She turned back to face Hetty before she left. "Hetty I'm sorry. If I'd known he had you, I would have done anything to get you out."

"What could you have done?" Sam asked, his tone aggressive and protective. He wasn't happy with the effect this woman, mother of Callen or not, had on his boss. First the phone call and now whatever she'd just said to her.

Rebecca looked at Sam and held his gaze. It shocked Sam a little that she didn't seem to be scared of him at all. "A lot, Mr Hanna." Sam's eyes widened at the use of his name. No one had introduced him as that to her, they'd just exchanged first names.

Rebecca turned away and Nate led her to his office, leaving Grey and Sam to take care of Hetty.

"I could do with some tea Grey, if you wouldn't mind."

Grey nodded, gave Hetty's shoulder a reassuring squeeze and slipped away to take care of it.

Sam crouched down next to his boss, his hand still over hers. "Hetty, are you all right?" He could see the tension in her, the pain still lingering in her eyes and even the shine of tears there. He wasn't used to seeing this side of her.

Hetty nodded and gave him a small, brief smile. "Sam, I can understand why she never came back. I would have done exactly the same thing."

Sam frowned and his eyes flicked to where he had last seen Rebecca then back to Hetty. He wasn't entirely sure he understood, but there was something in the forefront of his mind, a question that he couldn't answer. Maybe Hetty could.

"Do you think G will?"

"I think he will find it a lot easier to understand now," Hetty replied, "considering everything that has changed and happened with him these last two weeks."

Hetty could see the curiosity on Sam's face, the need to understand but she wasn't ready yet to explain, not fully. Though she could give him a little. "Peter was apparently the one who had Annabel and I seven years ago."

Sam felt like someone had punched him in the stomach as the tension and horror settled in it. He remembered the pub back in London, Annabel's terrifying scream and he felt simultaneously cold and hot at the thought that Hetty had been through anything remotely similar. Cold in the frozen in place, disbelieving way and hot in the anger and rage that someone had done that to his precious little boss. Because, unfortunately for him, he had seen, in Hetty's eyes, a brief glimpse of a terror that reminded him of what he had witnessed in Annabel that night. He wanted to know more, hoping that if he did, he'd find out that it wasn't as bad as he had expected. He knew that hope was slim to none, but he held onto it.

Hetty saw the questions and concern in Sam's eyes and shook her head. "No more for now, Sam. I will tell … I will try and tell you one day, just not right now. I need a little time."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

When Callen, Annabel and Grace had finished with the doctor, they made their way back toward the bullpen and Hetty's desk.

They had been given the all clear, though had been told not to drive for twenty four hours, to allow the drug's effects to wear off. Grace's cuts weren't too serious and the doctor was pleased with the treatment she had received back in Atlanta. She needed to be careful and keep them clean, but aside from that she should be fine. Callen and Annabel were reminded to take care of their other injuries and get some sleep. The doctor didn't want Callen involved in any active cases for at least a week, which Callen thought was a little excessive but he'd go with it. Especially since they were still under orders to stay safe and out of sight.

Grace was a little lost as to what to do, but Hetty took her under her wing and led her away with a gentle smile and a reassuring tone to her voice. To do what, they weren't quite sure.

Callen and Annabel started heading toward Sam and Grey, but stopped when Nate called out to Callen. They turned around to face him.

"Rebecca is waiting in my office for you, when you're ready."

"Thanks Nate." Callen turned back to Annabel as Nate walked away. He studied her for a moment. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She'd been through so much and Callen was definitely worried about how she was going to respond to the latest round of revelations that she'd just had. His were bad enough but hers … everything this was liable to bring back. He did know now wasn't going to be the time to talk to her about what she had discovered about Peter. Callen knew she'd just pack him off to talk to Rebecca but he needed to be sure she would be okay without him.

Annabel opened her mouth to say something but closed it again and shrugged.

Callen pulled her into his arms. "It's over now," he said softly. "You know that right? He's gone. He can't hurt you anymore."

"Can't hurt us anymore," Annabel corrected, her voice muffled slightly where her head was resting against his neck. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, drawing in his scent just as she had after Peter had hit her. Just as it had then, it helped ease the tension in her.

Callen smiled. "Yeah, can't hurt us anymore." He tilted her head up to face him and stroked her cheek. "I don't know how long this is going to take with … my mother." He found it hard to say the words even though he knew she was.

Annabel nodded. "I'll be here when you're done or when you need me." She wasn't going anywhere without him. She needed to be near him. Not just for him this time. She needed him for her.

"Get some rest," Callen said. "There's a pretty comfy couch here that I've spent a bit of time on. I'll come find you when I'm done … Or Nate's around, if you want to talk to someone."

Annabel smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. Go. Get your answers."

Callen brushed her mouth with a gentle kiss and was rewarded with another smile, which he returned before he stepped away and headed to Nate's office. He glanced back before he turned the corner and saw that Grey was already by her side, holding her, and he knew she'd be fine.

Callen made his way to Nate's door and paused before he opened it. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Was he finally going to get answers or was he just going to end up with more questions?


	56. Chapter 56

_A/N - So, finally we get to this chapter. It has been months in the making. I've lost track of how many times I've read it. It's been through beta'ing by the lovely angelprincesslilac at several different stages. A very big thank you to her for all the time she has put into this even when she didn't know if she would be able to find that time in her busy schedule. I'm sure I've told her how much I appreciate her help but I'll say it here again. Thank you. You know how much your support has meant to me over these last months._

_I hope, after all this time that this chapter doesn't disappoint. I hope I have done everyone justice and you enjoy it._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1. Reviews always appreciated.  
_

_WARNING on length - It takes me between 40 and 50 minutes to read over this chapter. It's approximately 30 pages in Word (with spacing between paragraphs though)_

_It is on the advisement of angelprincesslilac, as well as my own opinion ;-), that it would be cruel and mean and ... well any other words you can use to describe things like that, to break this conversation up after all this time  
_

_So, without further ado (and no more fussing about on my part), and after you've found a comfy spot and a cuppa if you are so inclined, enjoy this first conversation between Callen and Rebecca.  
_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O

**Chapter 56**

Callen took one more deep steadying breath before he turned the handle and slowly opened the door. He stepped through, closed it and turned to face Rebecca. She was standing by the window, her back to him. There was definite tension in her posture.

Callen took a moment to try and figure out if she was familiar to him, but he couldn't find any memories of her. He still only had the one about the red wagon and Amy. He stepped closer, his footsteps barely making a sound on the deep carpet in Nate's office. She heard him anyway and turned to face him.

The eyes were definitely his, or maybe his were hers. They stared at each other for a moment before she took a deep breath and spoke.

"You must hate me."

Callen didn't quite know how to reply to that statement so he moved over and sat down on the arm of the couch; nervousness, confusion and uncertainty swirling around in his mind. Things he wasn't usually familiar with in regard to his own life. But then feeling things about his own past weren't normal either. He usually locked them away and didn't bother checking up on them. Until now. He took a few moments to contemplate his answer.

"I don't know you enough to hate you. I think I understand why you left but don't really understand why you never came back for us."

Rebecca wrapped her arms around her body, but she didn't move to join him on the couch. She just stood there, watching him. "I wanted to," she said. "So much."

Callen could hear the sincerity in her voice, see the pain and regret on her face. At least he thought he could.

Rebecca shook her head. "But I couldn't. It wasn't safe."

"It wasn't safe? You were gone for thirty six years."

There must have some time when she could have come back for him, even if it had just been once he was an adult and capable of helping.

"Will you give me time?" Rebecca asked, desperation slipping through in her voice as she took couple of steps closer. "Will you listen and let me explain everything?"

"Will you tell me everything?" Callen asked. There was so much he wanted to know, so much he was confused about.

"Yes." Rebecca nodded. "I will. I know you have questions and I will answer them all as best I can, with the truth. You deserve that."

"What about protocol? State secrets?" Given whom she was, who she had been, could she really promise him that?

"You deserve the truth from me, and will get it. The good, the bad and the rest. I know you have no reason to trust my word, but I promise you the truth. And when I'm done, if you want me to leave and never come back … I will."

Callen heard her voice break on that statement.

"I'll listen."

Rebecca began to pace the room as she started to explain. Callen could see in her actions, hear in her voice, that she wasn't hiding anything. She was just talking, she wasn't acting. There were too many indicators of nerves, desperation and pain. Indicators she should have easily been able to hide. The thought did cross his mind that maybe she was putting them on, but he knew how difficult some of the smaller reactions were to fake and, with her words tumbling out in a rush, he really didn't believe that. So he listened and he tried hard to trust that she was telling him the truth.

"You have to understand, what we did, as part of The Twelve, it was...borderline. Things that nobody mentioned, nobody wanted to know about. There were never official orders of what was to be done. We were given a situation as it stood, told what would happen given certain outcomes. Some of it was probably illegal." She shrugged. "Maybe most of it. If anybody knew what we were doing, what we had done, wars would have raged. Yet what we did, we did to stop the wars before they started."

"How?" Callen asked. He knew that what was coming was going to be complex and potentially difficult to understand so he decided to ask questions as they went, to try and keep it as straight in his head as he could.

Rebecca frowned as she repeated his question. "How?"

She seemed confused and Callen realised he hadn't exactly been clear on what he was asking.

"How did they tell you what to do? Tell me about Kyle Partridge and Trent Baxter."

Rebecca smiled slightly. "My little delivery to Vance."

She took a deep breath and lent her hip against Nate's desk.

"Trent Baxter was one of your father's active aliases. He was a foreign correspondent for the New York Times. A trusted journalist who'd never had his integrity doubted. Funny thing was, there were occasions where he actually reported on things that had been the fallout of our missions. It certainly helped keep everyone looking in the wrong direction."

"He was with Partridge for two months."

Rebecca nodded, confirming Callen's statement.

"Yes. The whole mission took about eight or nine months. It wasn't rushed. We were given the situation. Kyle Partridge was suspected of being involved with the Russians to take over the United States. We were given the scenarios of what would happen if he won and the suspicions were true; if he won and they weren't and if he didn't win."

Rebecca finally sat down on the couch as she continued.

"If they were true and he won, things would have been extremely bad. If they weren't, we'd have a very popular President. If he didn't win, well, it was hard to see that outcome without something drastic happening or vote rigging. Considering his popularity that wasn't a plausible option. We spent six months getting your father close to Partridge, close and noticed, so that when it came time to pick the reporters for that final stage of the campaign, Trent Baxter's name was the one at the top of the list. Partridge personally chose the journalists that would be following him. During those two months, your father was able to get information that allowed us to eventually confirm that Partridge was definitely involved with the Russians, but that didn't happen until the final week of the campaign. We were in place and we waited. If there had been no proof we would have stood down. Your father would have finished the campaign simply as a journalist. Partridge would have been President and no one would have ever known of the suspected threat. But it wasn't the case and we had to do something."

"Couldn't the Russians have had someone standing by to take his place?"

"We thought of that. We'd already thoroughly checked those next in line to take over the campaign. They were clean. Partridge had been a long term assignment for the Russians. He'd spent twenty years working his way through the political jungle, climbing the ladder, getting on everyone's good side; the people, the politicians, everyone loved him. They didn't know the real him."

Callen moved off the arm of the couch to a more comfortable position on the couch. He had a feeling this conversation was going to take a while. "How did he do it? How did he make it look like a stroke?"

"I don't know. I do know he was considering pressure points. There are certain ones that cause death, not instantly though, otherwise the bruise from it would be a giveaway. He was looking into the ones where it would be a couple of days before the effects would be known. There were also drugs that would produce the same results."

Callen knew about those, both pressure points and drugs, though so far he had never had cause to use them.

"He never told you?" he asked.

"No. If we didn't know how he did it, then he was only one who knew and he wouldn't tell."

"Would you?"

"No." Her word was firm and she shook her head.

Even though Callen could see the hint of pain in her eyes that he might have doubted her loyalty, he saw her push it back. It impressed him that she wasn't pushing for him to believe her unreservedly. That she could accept the fact that he didn't know her and had every reason to doubt her word; that she was still willing to answer his questions and not get defensive.

"But it was the way we did things," she continued. "No one was told details that they didn't need to know, only that which was necessary for the success of the mission."

"So you all decided what was for the best? That's a lot of power."

Twelve people who essentially held the power to do anything. Callen held back a shudder at the thought of what could have happened had they all been bad.

"Yes, it was," Rebecca agreed. "And we always knew how easy it would be to turn it from being for the greater good to something else."

"But you didn't."

"No. We were all there for a reason. We all had a stronger alliance, you could say, with the greater good." She shrugged. "Most of us anyway. There was something in our past that kept us knowing what was right. Or at least, what was the greater good out of the options available."

Callen frowned. "What was yours?" He asked the question gently, something in her eyes telling him that the answer to it would be painful. It reminded him of when he'd asked Annabel what they had done to her, way back when they had been telling him how they met and why Hetty trusted Annabel.

Rebecca rose and started pacing again, her fingers alternately flexing and stretching. Callen sensed it wasn't the nerves but the pain he had already witnessed in her eyes at the question. The answer proved his instincts right.

"I was sixteen when I watched my parents get slaughtered by a drug cartel's hit man. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. One of the cartel's underlings did a runner, ended up in our home. I hid, scared, but I saw it. I saw everything and heard everything. I knew who did it. His face forever burned into my mind."

She took a slow breath to calm herself down as her voice started to shake a little. Her shoulders squared and determination settled in her eyes as she turned back to Callen and continued, her voice stronger than before. "But the police couldn't do anything."

The word police was filled with such contempt that it caused Callen to frown and a touch of nervousness settled on him about what was to come.

"The one I told that I knew who did it, he took me aside, told me to forget. That if anyone knew that I knew, I'd be dead before morning. The police weren't powerful enough, because one of their own at the top, was on the drug cartel's payroll. I was furious. Here I was I could tell them, but they couldn't do a damn thing about it."

"What did you do?" Callen asked.

"I followed his advice, in part. I told no one. But I spent the next two years, finding the one who did it, watching him and getting close to him." A small shiver went through her which Callen saw before she kept speaking. "After two years, I had the opportunity I'd been waiting for … I killed him … He never it saw it coming."

Eighteen. She'd been eighteen when she'd first killed someone. Younger than he had been for his first. Callen knew how hard it had been for him to deal with his first kill, even though he'd been in the military at the time. And his certainly hadn't been premeditated. She hadn't had any training; she'd done it on her own. Had she had anyone to help her through that time, not only then but when she'd witnessed her parents' murder?

"He was on so many lists of enemies of others. I doubted the police would look into it too much. It would just have brought attention to things they wanted to keep quiet. I'm not sure who was responsible for the verdict, but they wrote it off as suicide."

"You got away with it?"

Rebecca shrugged. "Of sorts. I got home, finished packing so I could leave. I was almost done when three men walked into my room and held up two photos. One of the dead body, one of me walking out of that room. What they said shocked me more than them having photos. They offered me a job. A job where I would have the training, the resources and the support to take down more than just a simple hit man. I'd be working to take down entire operations, though they did make it clear I wouldn't be taking down the drug cartel responsible for my family's death. It would be other groups."

So she could have been jailed for life, but they'd offered her a job instead. He wondered who they were.

"What did you say?" Callen asked.

"Where do I sign?" Rebecca turned and faced him as she explained. "I had no one left, Callen. I had no family, no friends by then. I'd gotten so involved in getting him, everything else had slipped away. This was a chance to take down the bad guys. To save someone from having to go through what I'd been through. In all honesty, I had no idea what I was going to do next. All I knew was that I needed to move, to leave town and try something new. Start fresh. They handed me that opportunity on a silver platter. A chance to do good… and not be alone anymore."

Callen could understand that; that need to not be alone. He'd felt that change in him strongly, just recently.

"Why did they want you?" Peter had asked that question, why had they chosen her. She hadn't answered him.

"To get close to him, I'd had to build a whole life that he would trust. Apparently they liked what I did, along with the way I'd managed to watch him without being noticed."

Callen was confused and his look must have conveyed that to her.

"They'd been watching me for over a year; watching me whilst I watched him. They'd been watching all of us. The Twelve were chosen for a reason; for a talent or potential talents that would useful for what they wanted from us. I don't know what it was about me that brought me to their attention. I didn't ask. I didn't really care."

"Who were they? The ones who had been watching you?"

"Representatives of MI6. The Twelve was a joint task force. Half the team comprised of MI6 agents, the other half CIA. We were partnered with a member of the opposite agency. The idea was to make sure that it stayed balanced and didn't favour one country's interests over the other."

"Did it work?"

"Mostly."

"There are barely any records of what you did, or who you were." They'd wielded such power. Callen was sure someone should have been keeping track of them, making sure they were doing what they were supposed to be.

"Of course there weren't. Too much of a risk if those details fell into the wrong hands," Rebecca said. "Even our reports were mostly verbal, bare minimum in the actual file and even then, in a code specific to the agent who was writing it. The code was changed every four months, but staggered. Each month three of us changed our codes."

Rebecca sat down again and slipped her shoes off. She tucked her feet up underneath her as she sat sideways so she could look at him. It was something he hadn't expected to see her do. Not the sitting part, but the position. It was a position a teenager would probably take, but in doing so she also revealed that she had taken care of herself over the years, perhaps to ensure she remained ready to protect him.

Rebecca continued. "There was a small team who were available to decipher the files if they were needed. They did work for various agencies and we sent dummy reports to them each time the codes changed, to make sure they were able to successfully decode them. The real ones were only ever deciphered if they needed to be, which was extremely rare."

"Who paid for all of this? If it was that secret, how did the government fund it?"

Their budget for OSP was something Hetty had to fight for and justify every year. She hated it but it was one of those things she was extremely good at.

"It was mostly funded by the team operations. The governments set it up and then left it. A certain amount of money filtered through to us from dummy departments that were listed as being for training and recruitment. We wrote some training manuals, designed some training courses and occasionally did some actual training of new recruits under the guise of external training consultants. But most of it came from what we did. Anyone we took down, we'd seize what assets we could, do what we had to do to convert it to something untraceable and move it. A certain amount was used to fund the team; the rest was split between us. If anything bad happened, it was entirely possible we would end up on our own on the run. We would most likely always be in danger and we needed to be able to disappear - live without a trace and not depend on anyone else. Everything was set up so compartmentalised that outside of The Twelve, there was only ever one or two who knew how to find us to give us the information for the next mission, or to direct us to a new emerging technology that they wanted us to secure, help hide and ultimately use to our advantage for as long as we could before it eventually became public knowledge."

Callen stood up and went to the water filter in Nate's office, getting them both a drink before he settled back down on the couch and waited for her to continue.

"When everything went to hell and we were disbanded, our careers, our lives … We didn't get them back. We were placed in an agency, only to be moved at the orders of those who were assigned to protect us. We weren't to ask for a transfer, a promotion or anything. We simply were to put our heads down, do whatever job we were told to and not complain."

"That must have made you mad. Everything you'd done for them and they treated you like that." Callen wasn't entirely sure how he would react to losing his freedom in such a way. Especially if he had been taking such risks to keep his country safe.

Rebecca shrugged. "Not really. It wasn't nice; certainly didn't make us feel appreciated but we were safe. We'd negotiated to be protected. Your father and I had you and Amy to look after. You were our world. Once you two came along, everything we did took a different meaning. Giving you a better, a safer world to live in became our main reason for doing what we did."

Rebecca reached for her glass and took a drink before continuing.

"When Amy was born, I cut back on field work for a while. I'd been working with black ops since I was nineteen. With your father since the beginning." Rebecca smiled softly, a look of love so easily read on her face as she started talking about his father. "It was instant between us. We were placed to work together, go in as a couple. All twelve were matched according to abilities. It was all set up but we didn't care. There was no one else for either of us once we met." She shook her head slightly and pulled herself back from some happy memories. Callen could see it in the look in her eyes.

"Umm, Amy was eighteen months old when I started going back out a little more often, never for more than a week. Before that, I'd only be gone overnight at the most. She'd stay with one of the other couples. Peter and his wife were one of them for a while, but she never really took to him. We didn't know why but when she started to get attached to one of the others, a woman, we just figured it was that she didn't like men. It was apparently a normal phase at her age." She shrugged. "Perhaps though, she knew."

Rebecca momentarily seemed lost in thought before she started again.

"We were sneaking into a terrorist camp when Peter was shot. I was there to set up the surveillance, we weren't able to risk anyone else doing it; it was too complicated. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something and threw myself at your father, knocking him to the ground. I didn't even know at the time why I did it. I just knew I had to. I just felt this overwhelming terror, like I'd never felt before. I didn't even see Peter until afterwards. He'd been standing right behind your father and took the bullet."

This was the story Peter had been referring to earlier - when they'd left him dead.

"The bullet hit right near his heart." She frowned as she kept speaking. "There was so much blood. Your father pulled me away telling me there was no way he'd survive, we had to run. I knew he was right. A wound like that, out in the field, there was nothing we could have done. We didn't have the ability to help him. He would most likely be dead within a couple of minutes, five at the most. So we ran. We hid and finally, three weeks later we made it home safe."

Rebecca's voice softened considerably with her next words. "Eight months later you were born."

She looked at him and smiled. It was a happy smile for the memory she was sharing, but it slipped to sad one. Almost like the memories had changed from the happiness of when she had him, to the sadness of losing him.

"Two years after that," she continued, "We finally had enough be able to go after that terrorist cell. We had the details, everything that should have been enough to take the operation down successfully. There were twelve of us again by then. It was that big, that important to take them down, that we all went in. It was rare that we did that. We usually made sure that there were enough of us safely home that if we lost everyone on the mission, there was still the full collective knowledge and skills of The Twelve to continue. We lost four, but took them down. At least we thought we did."

Except it had been a set up. Peter had wanted them to do it and get his revenge.

"I knew Peter's work so well and everything screamed at me that he had something to do with this. That he had survived. That he wasn't who we thought he had been. But I couldn't find him and that scared me more than anything. We'd taken down this threat but, as far as I was concerned, their leader was still out there. I wanted to keep looking but when we got back they closed us down. Because of the leak from Peter. The governments needed to be able to deny everything. They wouldn't even consider attempting to follow up on our concerns. We were reassigned, split up, they took our safety net." She smiled. "At least one of them."

Callen had a pretty good idea of what that safety net had been. The money she had referred to. "One of them? How did they even know you had them?"

"It was part of the agreement. A certain amount for us and the rest for the department. We had to justify our expenses. It was strange that they wanted to see where the money was going to and coming from, considering how secret it was supposed to be. But every three months, one of us had to take the accounts, go over them with someone and then they were destroyed. As for our other accounts. We were the best, Callen. The very best."

Callen knew she wasn't boasting. It was simply a fact. They wouldn't have been a part of that team if they hadn't been.

"We were picked because of our talents and our situation. There was no one in our past life to miss us. We all had a reason to want to fight for our county or what was right. We were extremely talented before we started and then we got the best training and had access to the best resources available. Resources that, in some cases, the world didn't even know about yet. We needed to be the best to do what we did and leave no trace."

"What were your specialties?" Graham had already told him this but he wanted to hear it from her. The more confirmation Callen could get of things, the easier it was for him to feel he could trust her.

"Forgery and surveillance to begin with. When they started training us, I found I had a natural talent for breaking and entering, both physical and data. I was paired up with your father. His talents were escape and evasion, fighting, both weapons and hand. He had at least seven black belts in different forms of martial arts, trained in at least five other forms of fighting and he was a weapons expert. He was ex-military. Could look at a weapon for about five seconds and instinctively know how to use it."

That soft look came across her face again and Callen had absolutely no doubt in his mind that she had loved his father deeply. Did that mean she'd felt the same way about him and Amy? The hope grew in his chest that it did.

"It helped us go in weapon free, gloved up and never leave a finger print behind. If we could, all weapons we used were from someone else. Between the two of us we could just about break into anything, get out of anything, become someone else, see everything and get out of most fight situations. It meant we were a popular choice for missions."

If they were that good…

"Then why couldn't you protect us?" Callen asked her. "Why didn't you keep us with you?"

"I wanted to," Rebecca said, holding Callen's gaze as she answered, allowing him to see her emotions as she spoke. "But when your father was killed, I knew I couldn't protect you anymore, especially without him. Maybe if he'd survived, but not alone. They'd found us without us knowing they had. As far as we knew they hadn't even accessed the records that would have told them where we really were, yet they knew exactly where we were on that road that day. The move, the change; it was only meant to be precautionary. Three others died that day as well; four in total of the eight that remained. It was better that they thought they got five. Better that they thought you and Amy had died too."

Graham had explained that but it was reassuring to Callen to hear it from her and have it match up.

"I couldn't protect you from something I didn't know was coming. I had no real idea who was behind it. I did wonder if it had something to do with Peter, but he was nowhere near the top of the list of possible suspects."

"But you watched."

Rebecca nodded. "Yes. Always. I always knew where you were. For ten years though I left trail after trail for them to find if they came looking; only they would eventually find it wasn't real. I set up about fifteen different lives in those ten years, staying away from you and Amy but knowing exactly where you were if I needed to get to you." She stood up and moved around; fidgeting again and Callen knew it was getting personal. She seemed to be fine when she was talking about The Twelve and the missions or the job, but when it moved in a personal direction, the pain settled back in her eyes and she couldn't sit still.

"I'd find someone on the street, around my age, set them up with a life, with money. Get them on their feet and leave the trail to them. But I always left something just before they'd find them, so they would know they were on the wrong path. To keep them safe."

"The money?"

All of those lives and everything she had done must have taken a lot of it.

"Your father and I had set up several different lives that no one else knew about. Forgery being my specialty, I had access to the best equipment, access to every federal database, both the States and UK. It wasn't hard, especially as we weren't keeping official records of anything. The work we'd done, the groups we'd taken down, they had a lot of resources. We had a lot of money set aside. There was also that from those we'd lost. Their funds came to the rest of us when something happened to them. In that ten years I worked with MI6, DOD, CIA. FBI. NSA and INTERPOL came after that."

"How could you work for them considering everything you'd done? Wouldn't some of them have recognised you?"

"CIA was a bit tricky. MI6 was when we left after the attack. The rest, none of them had any idea that we'd even existed. The only ones who would have known anything were right at the top, in their place to protect us if needed and I wasn't anywhere near them."

Rebecca lent against Nate's desk again. "I left back doors everywhere I could so I could watch from a distance. Only going back if they managed to slip a program update in that closed the door."

Considering that at that time, he was still in foster homes, he was confused as to why she had been doing that.

"Why?" Callen asked. "Why did you do that? To what end?"

Rebecca looked at him. "To watch for Peter, to watch for any signs that he was back, any signs that those of us left were being hunted. And then when you joined the military, it helped me watch you. Also, having access to FBI databases was useful keep tabs on you even when you were a child."

"Shouldn't they have found the doors though?"

"Beauty of starting when computers are still fairly new. I kept up to date with programming, monitored chats about system upgrades and changes. I've got multiple degrees; some official, some not. There were times when I was able to get into the company who was writing the software and slip the back door in there. "

"What kind of back door?"

"A login that was written in the base code. It wouldn't be affected by password and user name purges which happened anywhere between six and twelve months."

"I think Eric would like you." This was definitely things that would interest Eric.

"He's a talented boy."

Callen raised his eyebrows and Rebecca smiled.

"I know a lot."

"Why didn't you come back when I was older?" Callen knew it was a personal question but he needed to know. She'd given so much about what she had done, but he wanted to know, to try and figure out how she felt about him.

"I did," Rebecca admitted softly, shocking him. "You just didn't know it. It had been ten years. I'd set up a life, was planning on getting you. I'd wanted to come sooner, but every time I started thinking it was safe, an alarm went off. We had triggers set up, warning us if someone followed a particular trail. Someone seemed to be working their way through the lives I'd set up before we were disbanded. Somehow they had a record of things that were never supposed to have been recorded, at least by anyone except for me."

That made sense to Callen. She was probably the one who set up all the different identities for the team. She would need to know what she had done before and any changes that she needed to make to keep those aliases secure.

Rebecca rubbed her temples and closed her eyes briefly. "Obviously, that was Peter," she continued. "The ones I'd set up after we were disbanded, they seemed safe, but I couldn't be completely sure until I knew they had finished with the old ones. Once that had happened, I felt safe enough to come to you."

"Why didn't you take me with you then?" She'd come back. Could he really believe that, or was she just telling him what he wanted to hear?

"I couldn't." She shook her head and Callen saw a tear slip down her cheek. "What I did was risky enough, but I couldn't let him hurt you. I'd already lost Amy, I couldn't lose you too."

Callen frowned. "Who?"

"Do you remember the home you were in after the Rostoff's?" Rebecca asked him quietly, almost like she didn't want to.

Callen shuddered and pushed the memory away. It had been one of the worst homes he had been it. At least it had felt like it. Perhaps it just seemed so bad after the Rostoff's but he still didn't want to remember it.

"You do." She nodded. "Of course you do. Do you remember your last day there?"

Callen frowned and thought back, trying to keep his memory focused to just that day.

"I came home from school. Child Services were there. They told us he had a heart attack and died."

Callen remembered feeling elated at that news. Elated, relieved, happy even. He'd only been in that house for three weeks. He'd been on the verge of running so many times, but there had been other kids there, younger than him, and he'd tried to protect them by staying. Occasionally he'd managed, but not all the time. Enough though, to keep him from leaving until he could figure out a way for all of them to get out of there.

Rebecca nodded.

"I watched you come home. I watched you walk out of the house with your bag, get into a car and be driven away. I wanted to take you, but I couldn't." The tears filled her eyes and she struggled to keep her voice even. "The day before, a trigger had been set off. I was so close to getting you back. I had a house, furniture, except for your room. I was going to let you choose whatever you wanted for it." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I'd found out what he was doing to the children in his care. Once I got you out, I was planning on making sure he didn't get any more children, that the ones still with him were moved right after. But I had to run. I had no choice, except I couldn't go before I stopped him. "

"He had a heart attack." Callen watched her carefully.

"Yes." Rebecca held his gaze. Even through the tears that would have been distorting her vision, it didn't waiver.

Callen waited.

"He may have also had some help acquiring one," she admitted eventually. "We were trained to leave no trace. We were good."

"Why didn't you take me with you?" he asked again. After that home, he would have gone with anyone, just to get out of the system, to get away from not having a choice where he went.

"I had to run. I had to go to protect you. I wasn't safe to be around. Anyway, would you really have gone with some strange woman claiming to be your mother, who had no time to explain anything to you? Who just grabbed your hand, said 'I'm your mother, we have to run.' Would you?"

Callen shrugged. "Couldn't have been much worse than some of the places I'd been in." He honestly couldn't answer her question with a definite yes. He didn't know what he would have done. Getting out of the system would have been appealing but his self-preservation may have kicked in and quite possibly stopped him from going with her.

"Yes it could." The pacing resumed. "I went back to the house after I watched you leave. I'd left something behind. Some men were there. When they left I went inside to see what had happened. They'd destroyed everything in their search. They didn't find what I left behind; funny how much safer things are outside in the garden. But if they'd found me before I came to you, I would have taken them straight to you."

"But you kept running. When I was older, didn't you think I could help you?"

He'd been military, FBI, CIA. Pretty much everything. He knew how to protect people, how to run, how to hide. He could have kept her safe.

"That wasn't your job, my darling." The endearment slipped off her lips, but she didn't seem to realise she'd said it. But Callen noticed. "Mine was to protect you, not the other way around.

"I needed you." The emotional pain was heavy in Callen's voice. He couldn't hide it.

"No." The tears overflowed then, fell down her face. "You needed me to stay away."

The pain in her voice as she said those words was so much more than he had heard before, almost as much as he had heard in Annabel's voice when she'd told him about Zoe and about what Peter had done to her.

"Do you think it was easy to let you go?" Rebecca asked him. "To watch Hetty drive you away? And then to watch her drive Amy away too? I remember everything about it. I remember how many tears Amy couldn't hold back when she got in the car to leave me. Seventeen. Eight from the right, nine from the left. I remember you looking at me blankly because you didn't remember who I was. I remember what you were wearing."

Rebecca's voice broke as she finally stopped pacing and looked at him.

"A red t-shirt, black shorts, white trainers with purple socks with flowers that you had pinched from Amy's drawer that morning. I remember what Amy was wearing. A blue dress with yellow and pink flowers, white socks and white trainers. You held onto a teddy bear. His name was Beetle. Don't ask me why, you never told us. He'd always been Beetle from the first moment you picked him up. Amy had a white bunny with a pink ribbon with white spots tied around its neck, named Dotti. I remember Amy crying in my arms as we watched the car you were in leave. I remember trying to be strong for her as we drove across the country. I remember being relieved when she would fall asleep in my arms in the car, relieved because I didn't have to hide that I was dying inside. I remember Amy crying out through the car window as they drove away, 'I love you Mummy.' I remember everything."

Rebecca stared at him as the tears continued to flow, like a dam that had broken through a wall and there was nothing to hold back the water anymore.

"I woke up so many nights to that nightmare being played over in my head. I still do. And woke up just as many other nights to the ones that never happened. Where someone we had taken down had you. Once I strongly suspected it was Peter, the nightmares became so much worse and more frequent for a while. Remembering what he had done to … Those were the ones that gave me the strength not to come back. Because if I did, they could end up being real."

Rebecca struggled to wipe the tears away, found a tissue box on Nate's desk and took a moment to compose herself a little. Callen's chest was tight, his mind buzzing. Everything in him was wanting to believe that this was the truth, that she had really cared. But that tiny voice playing devil's advocate taunted him saying, 'She's good. Just like you.'

Rebecca turned back and started speaking again, pulling Callen away from that nagging little voice.

"I remember promising Amy I would be back one day. I didn't know when but I would come back for her; for both of you. When the bad men were gone. I remember her asking me why they had killed Daddy. All I could tell her was they were bad men and Daddy had stopped them doing something and they didn't like that. I told her that she could never tell anyone what our names were before and she couldn't tell you about anything if she found you again. You'd forgotten who we were; it was better that way for now. Because if you didn't remember then you wouldn't hurt so badly. She loved you so much and always hated you being hurt."

Rebecca's hand went to the middle of her chest as she continued. "I remember the pain here as you left. It was worse than when I saw your father dead next to me in the car. I ... "

Rebecca couldn't go on and before Callen realised what he was doing, he stood up, stepped closer and put his arms around her. It felt right. His aim had been to comfort her, though the first thing it seemed to do was break down the walls further as she sobbed against him and briefly clung to him. Then she managed to pull herself together and calm down.

Rebecca returned to sitting down on the couch and Callen could see that reliving all of this was hurting her and a part of him wanted to stop it. But he needed to know, needed answers. Especially if there was going to be a chance that he could have a relationship with her. He sat down as well, slightly closer to her this time, and Rebecca went back to what she had been trying to say before the memories of that awful day had overwhelmed her.

"You know what Peter was willing to do to you earlier. He wouldn't have cared how old you were. The more you suffered the more enjoyment he would have gotten from it. It would never have been just a matter of killing you to get to me. It would have been torture on you, until I came. Then there would have been more. Just to torment me and twist the knife a little deeper. To rub it in that he had you, that he'd beaten me. Today, when he was going to kill you so quickly, that I wasn't expecting. Peter's specialty was information extraction and fighting."

Callen found that an interesting term for torture.

"Peter could torture someone to the brink of dying, sit back and wait and then do it again and again. I rarely watched. You father and some of the other men took that role, to listen for the information we needed."

Callen found it so hard to believe that they had allowed him to do that, to do to others something like what Peter had done to Annabel.

"Why did you let him do that if it was so bad?" There was anger in Callen's voice that he hadn't been able to hold back, the memory of the terror in Annabel's eyes, the way she had been so scared just of the memory of his face.

Rebecca held his gaze. "Sometimes the end does justify the means."

Callen felt his anger diminish slightly. He really couldn't argue with that considering some of the things he'd done in the past to get information, or been willing to do, including most recently with Dom. Though he had never done anything in the realm of what he had imagined Peter had done to Annabel.

Rebecca continued, still holding his gaze. "We were working in world where that was common. In a world and a time when what Peter actually did, as awful and evil as it was, was less than what we were trying to stop. But I couldn't let him find you. I couldn't let him do that to you."

"I've been tortured."

It was noble of her to try and protect him, but it wasn't like he hadn't been through things like that before in his life.

"I know," Rebecca admitted and Callen remembered she had said she had always been close. It made him wonder just how close. "But never like he could do," she added. "His methods weren't just used on adults. He didn't care how old someone was. I remember when we took down the cell finding the bodies of children."

Callen froze and saw her close her eyes and a tremor go through her as she stumbled over the last word. Rebecca opened her eyes, shook her head slightly and moved the conversation on. "I doubt they will answer if you ask, but you know Hetty and Annabel have experienced what he could do to someone."

Callen remembered the look on Annabel's face when she had talked about it, remembered the terrifying screams, the fear. He narrowly suppressed a shudder as the rage in him at what Peter had done, flared again.

"She told me," Callen admitted softly.

"Who?"

"Annabel."

As the pieces of the puzzle of Callen's childhood and his life started to match up, he looked at the woman in front of him. His mother. She had given up everything to keep him – to keep them safe.

To keep them away from Peter.

Peter, the one who had caused so much pain for Annabel, not only taking Zoe from her but the torture she had endured. The one who had caused that small amount of time when she had been in so much pain and so terrified with the nightmares that had haunted her, that she'd wanted to die.

Callen looked at Rebecca with a new understanding, seeing her in a different light. Because he did understand. Because he would willingly give up having Annabel in his life, if it meant that she'd never had to go through that. He loved her, more than he had ever loved anyone before and he hadn't thought that would be possible after what he had felt for Jennifer. Because of that, how much he loved her, if it would have changed her past and taken that pain and torment out of her life. If it would have made sure she never had to endure what she had at Peter's hands, and the loss of Zoe, he'd do it in a heartbeat. Even if he had to live the rest of his life knowing exactly what he had lost by doing it. Just as his mother had done to protect him.

"So you've seen the terror right, in her eyes?"

Callen nodded. Rebecca's words pulled him back from the revelation in his mind.

"I couldn't let him find you or me. But I've been there watching, protecting and helping you where I could. I've done what I could from a distance. The tip about where you were in Russia that Gibbs got, telling him you were in trouble."

Callen's head tilted as he looked at her thoughtfully. "That was you?"

Gibbs had told him a tip came through, one that they hadn't been able to find the source of but the information that had come with it had been enough to warrant the rescue mission. The details of where he had been held were so detailed. They had originally thought that it was an inside job but they had never been able to track down the source.

Rebecca nodded.

"The other time?" Gibbs had pulled off two lifesaving rescue missions for his sake.

Rebecca shook her head. "That didn't have anything to do with me, though I did know you were in trouble. Gibbs was already keeping a closer eye on you by then and had discovered the same thing as me."

"How did you find us in Washington? You said a friend."

"Annabel's friend John. He's one of The Twelve."

"John? He was MI6 as well right?"

"Yes."

John must have got a message out before Mitch got there.

"How many contacts do you have?" Callen asked her. She smiled a little at his question

"Enough. Between contacts and backdoors I was able to keep an eye on you the majority of your life. When you started working for the CIA, I was terrified they'd find some connection with you to us. I didn't trust that they hadn't kept records anymore. That was when I took an even greater risk than when you were fifteen. I started working for them again."

"You were at the CIA when I was?"

"Yes," Rebecca confirmed. "I got in, checked over the files they had on you, every tiny detail. Made sure there was nothing there that anyone could use to connect you to me or your father."

Callen was confused. "Was there?"

"Yes. You father had a marker, you could say, in his DNA. It was just a single redundant gene, but at the time of his records it was noted as an abnormality. There were no symptoms that suggested it would cause a problem."

"Genes weren't defined back then."

Rebecca raised her eyebrows and Callen remembered what she had said about The Twelve having access to things that weren't even known about at the time.

"The research started long before it was official," she told him. "We didn't know what the genes did, but it was a way to identify us. You couldn't alter genes back then. It was the strongest confirmation of identity we could get. We all had the test. It couldn't tell us anything, except who we were. You have that marker, too. "

"They never tested my DNA," Callen denied.

"Not that you knew. But they did."

Callen frowned. He was pretty sure they should have told him if they had. Some privacy law or something would have covered it. "How did you get rid of the information?"

"A virus," Rebecca admitted. "I slipped it onto the computer network. When an intern went into update some medical records, it asked her if she wanted to save the records, she chose yes. The computer saw it as no. That caused a random deletion of files, yours included. The DNA tests were rather expensive back then. They didn't bother repeating it."

She'd been there when he had been. "Did I ever see you there?" he asked.

Rebecca was silent for a moment and Callen was briefly concerned that she was trying to figure out a lie. But she just took a steadying breath and answered the question, with what he believed was the truth.

"Yes. Once."

Callen's eyes focused on her as he tried to remember if he had seen her, or at least a younger version.

"You had left the office. It was my last day there. The virus had done its thing the week before. My time was up and I was leaving. For some reason you came back. You stepped out of the elevator as I was going in. You asked me to hold it and hurried to your desk and back."

Callen managed to find a memory that resembled that, but the woman who had stepped into the elevator had been a redhead. He recalled that because he'd remembered thinking something like 'Gibbs would like her.'

"You had red hair?"

Rebecca nodded.

"Why didn't you say something? It was just the two of us in there."

"Because you were safe. You had your own people to protect you, watch you, plus those watching as part of the protection we'd negotiated. I'd been positive for quite a while, that it was Peter that had been looking for me. I had to change tactics for the lives that I set up; he knew me too well. But from the moment I believed that it was Peter, I knew there was no way I could come back into your life whilst he was still out there. I was never going to let him touch you. That day in the elevator, was one of the worst of my life. I could have reached out and touched you, but I could never have you back, could never let you know. Watch and Protect. That was my life – make sure nothing happened to you because of what we had been and done."

Rebecca looked at him, held his gaze. "I've been close Callen, closer than you could ever have thought. I was at the hospital last year. "

Callen frowned. She must have been referring to when he was shot. "I don't remember you being there."

"I stayed back, was only in the room when you were asleep or unconscious. I came with Hetty."

"You know Hetty." It was a statement, not a question. He already knew the answer. What he really wanted to know was how. From the run in earlier he knew this was the case, now he could get confirmation of that without having to ask Hetty.

"Yes."

"How did you manage to slip past her radar?" Lying to Hetty was something that wasn't the easiest thing in the world. He could do it occasionally but mostly Hetty knew the truth and saw behind the lies. Hetty was someone he was extremely glad was on his side and not the enemy's.

"Why?" Rebecca asked as a small smile formed on her face. "You want to know how to pull the wool over your boss's eyes?"

Callen couldn't help it and returned the smile. "Could come in handy." Then he frowned as he remembered something else. "How come she doesn't remember? What's the serum Peter mentioned?"

"Britannia. She was one of us." There was a flash of pain and sorrow on her face as she said the name.

Callen felt something spark in his mind, hoped for a memory but nothing more came of it and he focused back on what Rebecca was saying, hoping that something would still come.

"She was one of our medical specialists. Research and treatment." Rebecca continued to explain. "It wasn't like we could just go to the hospital easily. That would have left a huge paper trail. We saved that for major events that she couldn't handle in the micro hospital we'd set up. She'd been researching a serum to make people forget. It was an idea to help keep any informants safe. We could go in, get someone from an organization and get the information we needed. Then we could give them this serum that should affect their short term memory, put them back in and no one would know. They'd wake up, think they'd had a bit of a drunken night. All symptoms would point to that, and they'd go back to work. Once it was perfected and working properly it was going to give us an alternative method to get information; to try and avoid using Peter. But it took her years to get it working as well as she did. There were still some issues with it, some side effects she was still trying to minimize, but she'd managed to get it stable and long term storable."

"How did you get your hands on it?"

"Brittania was the one Amy had grown attached to. So did you. She was, they all were family, but in particular I was close to her. You called her Aunty Rit. You couldn't quite get the B out properly." There was a sad smile on Rebecca's face at the memories that were obviously going through her mind. Callen was disappointed that nothing more came to him from that information. The spark that had flared seemed to have been completely snuffed out.

"When we were preparing for that final mission, Brittania gave us some. It wiped memories effectively and she wanted us to be prepared in case, even though she wasn't completely happy with it yet."

Rebecca's voice softened with sadness. "She was one who didn't make it out of that mission."

"You used it on Hetty?"

Rebecca nodded. "Yes. I slipped it into the drink she had just before she took Amy away. For some reason, it was a little too complicated for Britannia to explain, the drug took affect once you fell asleep. So I was already in London when Hetty 'forgot'. It was just one more way to protect you, to keep you hidden. She knew where you were, who you were. I needed to do everything I could because I couldn't let anyone find you. I'd lost so many already."

"How did you meet her?" Callen asked, directing the conversation away from something that was obviously so painful to her.

"A bit over three years ago Hetty joined a bridge club that I was a part of. I recognised her immediately. It was hard not to remember the woman who had driven off with my children." Rebecca frowned and got lost in her thoughts for a moment. Callen waited patiently for her to continue.

"She didn't talk about her work but we built up a friendship. Tea and bridge were a good starting point. After about six months or so though, she started telling me about her family. Told me she'd been estranged from them, but that things were working out. She would tell me little stories. It took me a few months to work out she was actually talking about you and your team. I don't know why she started doing that. She obviously doesn't remember me. Maybe she just needed someone to talk to and I'd been around for a while and she felt she could trust me. The life she uncovered when she did the background check on me would have helped with that too."

Rebecca sighed softly and lent back against the couch, obviously drained and tired. Callen wondered what she had been through lately; especially since they had run through the apartment that night.

"I couldn't believe I was getting almost first-hand information about you after so long. When Hetty didn't show up for the bridge game that night, when she took you all away. I knew something was wrong. In three years she'd never missed a game without calling with some perfectly valid excuse. Except once. The excuse was flimsy at best. She was distracted."

"When was that?"

Rebecca looked over at him as she answered. "Last year. When you were shot."

Callen knew Hetty had been shaken by his shooting. They all had, but she had always remained calm and encouraging, almost like she hadn't been affected, though Callen had known better. He had caught her one day, sitting beside his bed when she thought he was asleep. He'd witnessed a lone tear fall down her cheek. He'd kept up the facade of being asleep, knowing she hadn't wanted him to see that.

"Hetty came to my home the next day. Asked me to go to the hospital with her. She was supposed to be sitting with you, whilst the other family got some sleep or worked. At least that was what she told me. I waited outside until she came and got me, after a couple of your team left. Eric and Kensi. She didn't want them to think she couldn't cope. I walked into your room and I almost lost it there and then. I hadn't known it was going to be you. She'd just told me one of her family was injured. It took everything I had not to let her realise that I knew you." Rebecca took a moment to shake off the memory and then continued the story.

"When she didn't show up, or call the other week, I went to your apartment and checked, but there was no sign of anyone. I started to get worried. Instinct told me something was very wrong. I went to her house but she wasn't there either. I knew how much you trusted Gibbs, so I headed there, thinking that maybe, if some was wrong, she'd taken you to him. John has a place in Washington that I was able to use. It was all I could do. I was there by mid-afternoon. First thing I did was leave that note for Vance. I knew about him from Corine and Jeremiah, knew he would be their choice if something happened to them. We all had someone we trusted to leave the information to. Someone who would look into things if it seemed like we had been murdered; generally someone who had either contacts or resources."

When she paused for a breath, Callen interrupted. "Who's yours?"

Rebecca looked at him. "You. If something happened to me, there's a package with everything you would have needed to know. Everything about your father and I. About The Twelve."

"Where is it?"

"Safe. A special storage facility. Extremely secure."

Callen raised his eyebrows curiously. "Does this mean that I can have that information now?"

"I'll answer anything that you want to know, Callen. I've promised you that. You have no need for that package anymore. But, if you want it, to give you more proof of what I've told you, I'll get it for you."

Callen nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

Rebecca focused back on what she had been saying before his questions had side-tracked them. "I started watching Gibbs' place. A few days later John called, left me a message telling me it was definitely Peter who was after you. He sent me an email with details of the cards he had given you, hoping it would be enough for me to find you, to be able to warn you about him."

So John had managed to do something before he died. Callen wished he could thank him for the sacrifice he'd made. Obviously getting that information out and taking care of Sasha had limited his time to be able to get away. He focused back as Rebecca continued.

"I was able to find where you booked the places. It took a bit of time but I managed to get into the buildings systems and find out which apartments were vacant. Not a lot are rented out and I hadn't been able to get one that way. John was trying to get actual proof that Peter was still alive. We knew he was, we just didn't have anything irrefutable to prove it, and we needed that to be able to get the help we needed to take him down. We knew they wouldn't act without it. Too much of a risk. I had to choose between the two bookings. I chose the place that took the least, hoping you were like your father. From the information John had sent, you and Kensi were the ones being targeted. If it had been your father and I, he would have sent me with the larger group. He wasn't as reckless as Peter portrayed him. So I took the risk, found an empty apartment and waited for you to arrive. I was in the hallway when you did, and I panicked. I went back into the apartment, took some time to calm down, to get it straight in my head what was the most important things I needed to say to you. Because now I knew what you up against, you needed to know. I heard what I thought was a gunshot, but dismissed it, until I heard the others. I found my gun and was coming to check it out, to make sure it had nothing to do with you. My heart was racing wondering if I'd been too late. When I opened my door, you and Annabel charged through. I knew you were running, that they must have found you and I knew I couldn't follow; that I couldn't distract you and you needed to go. I watched you leave … Again. I tried to call John but he wasn't answering. I kept getting a message that his phone was out of range or switched off. I was worried about him but I needed to figure out another way to let you know what you were up against. I had to find you, because I couldn't just tell anyone. There was too much at stake if I told the wrong person."

Callen didn't want to be the one to tell her that John was dead. He knew he would have to sometime. He just didn't know how. She'd lost so much in her life already.

"What did you do?" Callen asked her instead.

"I went to the NCIS office in Washington. Hoped that I would find Gibbs, or that you would show up there. I'd been in the NCIS system, knew they were looking for you. They could do more than me so I waited. I saw Graham arrive. Knew that meant Hetty at least suspected it was Twelve related. I saw Annabel and waited for you. When you finally got there, I was going to come in. I was just about to get out of the car when my phone rang. John was in hospital. He'd been in an accident. I was the only one left who could find and identify Peter, who could get the proof he was still alive. So, knowing you were finally safe, at least mostly, I left. I went to Richard's home in Atlanta, hoping that Peter would go there now that things hadn't worked out with getting you."

Something finally clicked in Callen's mind.

"Wait? John's alive?"

"Yes." Rebecca frowned. "Did you think he was dead?"

"Yes. There was an explosion at his place. Mitch told Annabel and I that he had died in it."

Rebecca smiled softly. "No. John never has a home that doesn't have an escape route or two and a bomb and fireproof shelter somewhere in it. If Mitch thought John was dead, it was only because John wanted it that way."

John was alive. There was some good news for Annabel from this. One less loved one she'd lost to Peter.

There was a lull in the conversation and Callen was tempted to call a halt to it. There had already been so much information revealed, but he need more so he asked a question that none of them had really been able to figure out.

"Why did you leave MI6?"

"I was pregnant. I found out a month after we got to back to London." Rebecca stood up and moved to the window. She looked out for a few moments before she turned back to him. She stayed where she was as she continued the story.

"I couldn't believe it. It was, in a way, the cruelest thing. I'd just given up my two children, lost my husband and had to run for my life whilst thinking and hoping that I'd done the best for them because I couldn't protect them anymore. And here I was, carrying another one." She shook her head, desperation seeping into her next words. "Please don't think I didn't want Mary. I did. But I knew I couldn't keep her any more than I could you and Amy. It was almost harder to give her up. She was like this final gift from your father. I fled the UK. I was five months pregnant at the time, but I'd never started showing with either of you until six and a half months. So I had a little time. In all that time I'd been with MI6, they'd made no headway into finding out who had been after us. So I went to Corine and Jeremiah. Corine and Brittania had been the ones to deliver you and Amy. They helped me hide, made sure no one ever saw me. Jeremiah was a lawyer, so he used his connections to find someone who wanted to adopt. We set up the paperwork, made a life for her 'natural' parents. A young sixteen year old girl and her seventeen year old boyfriend who had died not long after they found out she was pregnant. She had no family to go to. It was close enough to the truth really. Except the age and boyfriend description. I had hoped that what your father and I had done, would never touch her, that she could lead a normal life. A safe life. Corine and Jeremiah kept an eye on Mary. I couldn't face following her too. But I couldn't give up on you and Amy. So I did what I did. Kept an eye on you both as best I could from a distance, setting up the lives I told you about, running when I had to."

Rebecca moved away from the window and sat back down, closer to him this time.

"Callen I'm sorry I couldn't be the mother you deserved. The one there every day, who held you at night, kissed you better, laughed with you, taught you to ride a bike. I did the best I could to protect you and Amy and Mary."

"But you went back for Mary and Grace," Callen said, pain coming through in his voice. He didn't mean to let it show. Rebecca made a move but stopped herself. She'd been about to take his hand, he was sure of it, as if to comfort him. He wasn't sure why she had stopped but a small part of him wished she hadn't.

"I had no choice. No one knew about her. She had no one else. You know who Grace's father was now. Who her grandfather was."

"Yes." Peter and Richard.

"Corine and Jeremiah told me Mary was in trouble. She had a young child, three years old, and was in an abusive relationship. Her adoptive parents had died when she was twelve. I had to see her, I couldn't not help. At first I was just going to be a friendly neighbour and reach out to her, give her an opening to ask for help. But when I realised who she was involved with, I had to get her out of there. If Peter really was alive, as I honestly believed, and he'd worked out who she was back then," Callen saw the shudder that went through her and narrowly avoided copying the action himself at the thought.

"It wasn't that Mary looked like your father or me," Rebecca continued, "She looked more like my father. It was Grace. She was showing signs of looking so much like Amy. And Peter knew Amy. So I took them and ran. I finally told John about them and he helped. He had a place we could hide in until I could set up a new life for all of us."

"She went with you?"

"She wanted out. She was desperate and she wanted to protect Grace. Richard had already hit Grace a couple of times when Mary wasn't in the room. I wanted to kill him when I heard that, but they needed me more."

Callen could understand that. Just the thought of someone hurting his family, especially as Peter was likely to have done, sent anger and an overwhelming protective urge coursing through his veins.

"John sent someone he trusted to help protect us. Owen needed a new start. We gave him that and he helped us." Rebecca softly chuckled. "Then he fell in love with Mary and Grace. He was a great father to her, a great guy for Mary. I couldn't have asked for better. So we set them up, made sure they knew what to do if they needed to run and I started playing absent Grandma. The story was that I travelled a lot and would come to visit a few times a year. They lived a happy life and when Grace got older, we let her know a little about what was really happening. That her father was involved in really bad things, that I was really her grandmother. That we needed to make sure they never found us. We never told her about Peter. That was something I wanted to protect her from because Peter was so much worse that Richard could ever be. Grace took it surprisingly well and we did what we could to train her and give her what she needed to survive if she had to run on her own."

Things about Grace started to make a little more sense now. The way she was able to handle a gun, the confidence in her eyes that she could have taken him down. The confidence Callen was sure Sam had witnessed when she'd made him step back with just a look. He was still curious about what Grace knew about him, but that was something that could wait for now. He could ask Grace later.

"When Grace called and told me that Richard knew who she was, who we were, and had killed Owen, I didn't see it coming. There was only two ways he could have made that connection. I'd made a big mistake somewhere along the way, or Corine and Jeremiah had told him. It wasn't that I didn't trust them. They'd kept my secret for so long and I knew that if they had told someone, something terrible had to have happened to cause them to. I was suspicious of their deaths already. That phone call started my world unraveling so fast. Everything I had done to protect all of you was falling apart. I had to find you and convince you to run or at least hopefully convince Hetty and Graham that this was definitely Twelve related. With the resources at their disposal I was sure we could find a way to hide you, if only they would trust me and believe my suspicions without any real proof. I had trusted that Grace had done what she was supposed to which left me with time to find you before I tracked her down again. I should have known better. "

"So you came to find me?"

"Yes. I tried calling the number I had for you after I hung up from Grace, even though I knew the likelihood of you still having that same one was slim. I couldn't get through so I just got rid of the phone and I left Richard's; started driving. I should've stayed. I was right there and you were on your way there with Grace. I could've stopped it."

"How did you know where we were? When Peter had us?"

"I called Hetty when I was a couple of hours out of LA. My instincts were screaming that I was too late, so I found a shop, grabbed a new phone and called. You had already been taken though. When Hetty told me a possible address, I recognised it as one of Richard's properties. I went there hoping to give them time to get to you. You know the rest."

Callen didn't know what to say. She'd answered so many questions, though he was sure that when he stopped and thought over all of this, he would have more.

"I never stopped loving you Callen," Rebecca said softly, pulling his attention back to her.

"Is that really my name?" he asked.

Rebecca smiled. "Yes," she nodded. "It really is."

"What does the G stand for? Why did you give me an initial rather than a name?"

Rebecca shook her head and said earnestly, "It was a name. It is your name. Just because it only has one letter in it, doesn't make it any less important than one with ten."

Callen frowned, frustrated at that answer. It wasn't enough.

"What was my real name?"

"Callen. To your father and I and Amy, you were Callen."

"So why G?"

Rebecca got a far off look in her eyes as she thought about happier times. She smiled again.

"You were four months old and sick. I was trying to get Amy cleaned up after she'd managed to dump her breakfast on her head."

Callen couldn't help but chuckle at the mental picture of a young Amy from his memory with a bowl of cereal as a hat and milk dripping down her cheeks.

"Your father was holding you whilst I did, trying to keep you happy. You kept throwing up. I think he was on his third shirt of the morning already. I was just about to take you back when you threw up again. Your father's response was 'Oh gee, enough already.' You laughed."

Rebecca's smile spread further across her face. "For the very first time. Your father was late for work that day. He spent the next hour saying it and trying to make you laugh again. And you did, every time. He worked out it was just the 'gee'. It didn't matter how many other words he said, for some reason you found 'gee' funny. Your father looked so proud that day, I swear he seemed taller. His little boy had laughed and he'd helped."

Rebecca looked at him again. "The name stuck. You were either Callen or G, depending on whether you were in serious trouble or not. You were cheeky and cute so you tended to be G more often. When we set up the I.D for you for a worst case scenario, that's what we used. No one else knew you were Callen or G. We always referred to you as Gregory when we were around someone else. You liked that we had a secret from everyone. You wanted to grow up to be a spy."

Rebecca laughed softly at that and Callen smiled. It was such a happy sound coming from her.

"We played along, told you this was good training. You were good." The smile disappeared, a sad and haunted look replacing it. "When you were knocked out in the accident, and didn't remember anything when you woke up, it was partly a relief, even though it hurt so badly. We'd been so happy and this way, I hoped you wouldn't hurt so much when I was gone."

"How did John know who I was?"

"You were named after him. He and your father were on a mission, I was about seven months pregnant with you. Your father almost didn't make it home - one of those nine lives. John saved him, patched him up, kept him alive for two weeks before they got out and he brought him back."

"His name is Callen?"

"No, back then he was Gregory Allen. Your grandfather's name was Charles and when I was pregnant, before that mission, your father joked with John about naming his first son Charles. John had looked put-out, arguing that you should be named after someone living not dead, namely him! Over the years they had developed quite a teasing rapport. There were times when I wasn't sure if it was teasing or serious, but they always knew. Callen came from a combination of the two names. We officially named you after him, Gregory. When Annabel introduced you as Callen, he made the connection. I'd told him I'd changed your last name to Callen. I didn't tell him your full names, but between that and the fact that you have my eyes and look a lot like your father, he was able to put two and two together. The fewer people who knew your name the better. I didn't even tell Corine and Jeremiah. I just… I wanted someone else to know, one other person that I trusted. Just in case."

'Protect him.' It hadn't made sense at the time, and Callen had just brushed it off. He had just thought that John knew what Annabel was doing. Turns out he knew more than any of them.

"So he never saw me until then?"

"As far as I know," she shook her head. "No. Except when you were a child."

"So I really am G Callen?"

"Yes."

All these years thinking there had been a mistake, thinking something was missing. All this time, he really was G.

"I should go," Rebecca said as she stood up. "Give you some time to think about all of this. I'll leave Hetty with my number, if you want…" she trailed off and Callen understood. She would only come back if he wanted her to.

Rebecca stepped away and Callen stood up, moved and reached out to stop her.

"Don't leave," he said.

Rebecca stopped and looked up at him, shock and hope evident on her face at his words.

"I believe you," Callen added. "I believe you did what you thought was best for us. I believe you loved us."

"I still do," Rebecca whispered.

"Please stay. I want to get to know you."

The tears overflowed and Callen pulled her into another hug. He smiled as he thought about all the changes in him that had taken place. He wasn't normally an openly affectionate person, but Annabel had changed that. Not because she'd demanded it but simply because he wanted to be that with her. It certainly looked like that change might be overflowing into other relationships in his life.

"I love you, Callen," Rebecca said softly into his shoulder.

Callen took a deep breath and a scent drifted into his nose. It provoked a memory.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

"Mummy, come quick!" Amy called loudly.

He giggled, hiding behind his father's legs, but peeking all the same.

His mother walked out of the back door, a towel in her hands as she wiped them dry.

"What is it?" she asked

"We've got a surprise for you. Come on," his father encouraged her.

Amy ran up, took their mother's hand and pulled her closer, a light happy smile on both of their faces.

His mother looked down at him curiously.

"G? Why are you hiding?" she asked.

He stepped out from behind his father and pointed the hose at her, drenching her in seconds. He, Amy and their father laughed at the look on her face.

"Oh, you are in trouble now," she said, a sparkle in her eyes and a smile twitching on her lips as she dropped the towel and started to come after him.

"Daddy, save me," he squealed as he started to run away.

"With pleasure," their father said as he tackled their mother carefully to the ground. Amy then helped him turn the hose on both of them. Their parents didn't seem to notice or mind- they were kissing, something they did often. Amy giggled at them as did he. Amy helped him direct the hose over them so they were completely soaked and when they finally stopped kissing, they turned to look at the two children. They looked back at each other.

"I get the little one," their mother said.

"Guess the big one's mine," added their father.

With that, their parents got up in a speed that defied the fact they were soaking wet and muddy, and the ground beneath their feet was slippery, and ran after the two of them.

He dropped the hose. He and Amy and ran in opposite directions but were nowhere near quick enough. He felt his mother's arms slip around him as she lifted him up and held him securely in her arms. He heard Amy squeal as their father caught her too.

He giggled and grinned at his mother. She smiled back and he wrapped his little arms around her neck and gave her a big kiss on her muddy cheek.

"Love you Mummy."

"Love you too, G."

He buried his head in her hair and even though she was wet and muddy, he could still smell that unique scent that was her. He didn't know what it was exactly; he just called it the mummy smell. He liked it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

"I remember the hose fight," Callen said, a touch of awe in his voice that he had finally remembered something.

"Which one?"

At the look on his face Rebecca smiled. "We had a few at least, every summer."

"It was muddy. It was a surprise Amy called you out for." Callen hoped that was enough for her to remember. He wanted to know more. Maybe she could help him.

"Oh, that one." Rebecca grinned. "Took three washes to get the mud out of all our clothes."

Callen pulled something else from that memory. "You called me G."

"Yes."

"You haven't called me that at all since you came back."

Rebecca glanced away as she spoke. "I wasn't sure I should."

"Why not?" Callen asked and she turned back to look at him as he continued. "You said it was my name."

"I wasn't sure if I had the right to use it."

Callen looked at her for a moment before adding, "Of course you do. You gave it to me."

"I love you G, so, so much," Rebecca said, tears shining in her eyes along with hope.

"I remember loving you," Callen said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I remember that feeling."

Rebecca smiled and the hope grew in her eyes. "Maybe, if I'm lucky, you'll feel it again someday."

Callen looked at her carefully, trying to figure out the slew of emotions that was swirling around inside him. He looked at her eyes, so like the ones he saw in the mirror every day. He thought back to his memory and tried to define some of what he had been feeling in it to see if it matched with any of his current emotions. He was surprised by his conclusion.

"I think I already do," Callen admitted softly.


	57. Chapter 57

_A/N - Thank you so much for the great response to the last chapter. The reviews were so great and encouraging. I'm so pleased that all of the work and time paid off. All mistakes are now mine! Hope you enjoy._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1  
_

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**Chapter 57**

Callen stepped out of Nate's office and closed the door, leaving Rebecca inside. They'd talked a little more and then she'd asked for some time on her own. He knew how she felt. The revelations that had happened over the last few hours were hard for him to take in too. He could barely imagine how overwhelmed she must be feeling after literally being on the run for most of her life and now finding everything is over, that she was finally safe.

Callen's steps were slow, but even, as he moved down the corridor, pondering everything he had just learnt. He'd gotten answers to so many things. Now he just needed time to process it all. They both did.

"You good, G?" Sam's voice brought him out of his musings.

Callen smiled at his partner and stepped over to stand next to where Sam was leaning against the wall. He wondered how long Sam had been there for.

Sam's gaze was focused on Callen's face and he knew Sam was looking to see if he was telling the truth as he answered.

"I'm good, Sam. Been waiting long?"

Sam shook his head. "Nope. You got some answers?"

It was the way that Sam said 'Nope' - not very convincingly - that had Callen thinking Sam had either been there for the entire conversation or he had kept coming back every now and then to check. Either way, Callen appreciated his partner's unspoken support.

"I got a lot more than answers," Callen replied as he lent against the wall next to Sam. "She told me so much. Answered everything I asked her about."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "You believe her? You believe she is your mother?"

Callen could understand Sam's reluctance to believe blindly. He could feel the protective vibe radiating from Sam; had actually been feeling it for most of the last two weeks since this crazy ride began. So much had happened, so much had changed and they had gone through a period of time when they really didn't know who they could trust, outside of themselves. A time they were only just managing to feel their way out of.

"Yeah, Sam. I do," Callen assured him. "I remember her even. From when I was a kid."

Callen had remembered the feel of being in her arms too. It hadn't just been a visual memory that had come back and that had surprised him a little. But then, so had the scent of her provoking that memory.

"You were in there a while. You need anything?" Sam asked.

Callen smiled to himself at the concern Sam was showing. The protective, almost parent-like concern that slipped out from Sam during certain moments, usually before the teasing and normal banter kicked back in. He glanced at his watch briefly. He had a vague recollection of what time it had been when he'd gone in to talk to Rebecca. At least two hours had passed. He shook his head slightly, hardly able to believe how much he had learnt in such a short period of time. He knew there was so much more ground to cover with Rebecca once the fallout of the conversation had settled in his mind. He hoped some of that ground would lead to more of his pre-five memories coming back.

Callen glanced back at Sam and saw the questions in Sam's eyes. Questions he knew Sam wouldn't ask at the moment. Because Sam knew him so well and knew that after everything, he needed time to process. He knew exactly how to thank his partner for his support.

"Come on, Sam. Ask. I'll give you three questions." He could at least give Sam a little to tide him over until he was ready to talk about it more.

Sam grinned briefly before his look turned serious. "You sure? You look a little overwhelmed."

Callen wasn't quite sure what he was feeling at the moment. Overwhelmed was part of it amongst other things. He knew relief was definitely in there. Relief that he had so many answers. Relief that this appeared to be over; that they were all safe now, at least hopefully.

Callen nodded. "I'm sure, Sam. What do you want to know the most?"

He wasn't sure what Sam would ask, but whatever he did, he'd answer as best he could. Sam had stood by him, helped him. He deserved answers too.

Sam looked at him for a moment as he contemplated his question. "What's your real name?"

Callen grinned. For once, an easy question to answer. "G Callen."

Sam gave him a look, one that suggested he didn't believe him. "Come on."

"Seriously. It is. I was only Gregory when there were other people around. I used to be Callen to her, my father and Amy. G was a nickname."

For now he'd keep the explanation to himself. It was one of the precious memories, even if he had only been told the story, and he just wanted to savour it for a little bit. He remembered the look in Rebecca's eyes as she'd told him the story behind the name. It was one of the things that helped him believe that she had loved him. She looked so happy for those few moments when she was telling him about it. Annabel's face flashed before his eyes and he inwardly smiled. Actually, not quite to himself. He wanted to share that with her first.

"Did she ever try to come back for you?" Sam asked next.

Funny thing about that question. He'd never really considered that before today. The only question he'd wanted to ask like that was, 'Why didn't you?'

Callen nodded. "Yeah, she did." He knew the story she told was the truth. He'd allowed himself to remember that part of the day clearly and it had matched up. She'd been so close. She'd watched him, protected him. All those years he'd thought he was alone, but she'd been there, in the background, keeping him safe the only way she knew how. He shook off the thoughts and continued with his answer. "But they found her before she could come and get me; which, considering everything, was actually good thing."

Sam looked curious for more. As much as he wanted to tell Sam, he wasn't ready to rehash that yet. He still needed to get the story and information straight in his own head first.

"It's a long story, Sam. One I'll tell you but not right now. Last question," Callen prompted.

Sam's face turned quite serious with this one and Callen frowned slightly.

"Was Peter really the one who had Hetty?" Sam asked finally.

Callen knew there was more behind the question. He could see it in Sam's eyes and he wondered just what had happened to make Sam ask it.

"Yeah, Sam. He was. He was the one who had Hetty and Annabel. He was the one who … He's the one who tortured Annabel. I don't know if he was the one who did it to Hetty as well, but he was behind it at least." He saw the concern grow in Sam's eyes as he confirmed what he was sure Sam already suspected. "Sam, he was the one my mother was protecting me from. He was the reason she couldn't come back. She didn't want him to do anything like that to me."

Sam nodded and Callen saw the frown lines and concern in Sam's eyes. "So Annabel had to face him again."

Annabel. Callen briefly closed his eyes as flashes of them being held by Peter played over in his mind. Her reaction, her panic, the pain in her voice. The rage at the thought of Peter doing anything to her again. He opened his eyes and shook his head sharply to get his mind back on track and noticed Sam frown at the action.

"Yeah," Callen nodded. "Face him again and learn he was also the one behind Zoe dying." His mind continued to stay on Annabel. "Where is she, Sam?" he asked. He could hear the desperation in his own voice, knew Sam would too. He needed to see her; make sure she was okay after everything that had happened.

"Last I saw she was asleep on the couch. She spoke with Grey and Nate for a bit. Come on. Let's go find your girl." Sam pushed himself off the wall and they walked down the hallway together.

"Sam."

"Yeah?" Sam looked at him as they continued to walk.

Callen knew Sam could be a pain. There were things about the ex-SEAL that drove him nuts, though he was generally smart enough to hide the extent of his frustration because, quite frankly, he was sure there were things about him that did the same to Sam. But knowing Sam was there for him, would do anything to protect him, as well as those he cared about, that made up for a hell of lot of frustrating little quirks, and Sam didn't really have that many – just a few. Sam was special; worthy of putting up with those quirks. He'd never had a partner who had his back the way Sam did. And he really should know, cause over the years he'd been through quite a few of them.

"Thanks," Callen said. "For everything. For what you've done for me and for her."

Callen was pretty sure that Sam would have been keeping an eye on Annabel closely, as well as Hetty, whilst he had been in with his mother. The fact that Sam knew she'd been talking with Grey and Nate, that she was sleeping, just added to what he had already known in his heart. She had been well taken care of whilst he'd been learning so much.

"Anytime." Sam grinned as he jokingly added, "Just try not to need me to have to do it too often." They both knew, even though the tone was teasing, the meaning was very real.

"Not planning on it." Callen wasn't quite sure how the changes in his life would affect his work, but he knew that things would be different now. He wouldn't be taking so many unnecessary risks anymore. He had too much he wanted to live for, too many people to stay safe for.

"Good to know," Sam added quietly, almost to himself but Callen heard him. Under normal circumstances Callen was sure he could find some way to tease Sam about that but these weren't normal circumstances.

As the two of them walked down the stairs Callen saw Hetty sitting at her desk. She looked up at him over her glasses, a questioning look on her face. Callen nodded, assuring her that he was fine. His focus was still on finding Annabel, so he headed that way, though Sam headed to Hetty rather than following him.

Callen found Annabel and stood in the doorway as he looked at her lying there, sleeping in a place he had slept so often. He smiled at the peaceful expression on her face. He wasn't expecting to see her sleeping, let alone peacefully.

Callen felt Hetty's presence beside him and looked down at his boss. It still amazed him that she could creep up on them so easily, even when she was wearing heels.

"Mr Callen," Hetty said softly so as not to disturb Annabel, "I don't know if it helps, but if I was Rebecca, knowing what I know, I would have done the same thing. I couldn't have…" Hetty trailed off and Callen put a hand gently on her shoulder. He could see the tension, the emotion and the truth of her words in her face. Hetty had been through so much as well these last couple of weeks. So many of them had had their lives affected in some way. It wasn't just about him and Annabel.

"I know, Hetty. So would I." Callen's gaze drifted back to Annabel, though his hand stayed comfortingly on Hetty's shoulder. "If I could have stopped him ever having done what he did to her, stopped him taking Zoe from her. Even just to take away the nightmares so she didn't have to go through that. I would do anything to make that happen, even if it meant living without her."

Callen looked back down at Hetty and saw her smile up at him, a knowing yet gentle smile. "So you are in love her," she stated simply.

"Yes Hetty. I am." Callen smiled back at her but it slipped away as a question pushed its way to the forefront of his mind and his eyes flicked to Annabel and back. "She's sleeping. Has she had any nightmares?"

Callen guessed she hadn't, considering how she looked, but he wanted confirmation; wanted to know if he needed to be extra careful when he woke her up. He didn't want to scare her or not be expecting her reaction if she had been having them.

Hetty shook her head. "No Mr Callen, she hasn't. I'm glad. I remember them still."

Because he was still touching Hetty, he felt the small shudder that went through her and frowned.

"What do you mean? She said she didn't have any in the hospital. How did you know about them?"

Hetty glanced at Annabel and then back to Callen before she gestured for him to follow. They stepped far enough away that their voices wouldn't travel to where Annabel was, should she happen to wake.

"She had them in the hospital. She just didn't know that she did. The doctors called them Night Terrors. It wasn't until she left that they changed to nightmares instead. I kept in frequent contact with Grey during her recovery. He let me know what was happening with her. Unfortunately there wasn't anything I could do to help." Hetty took a breath before she continued. "I was in the room with her for the first couple of them before I was released from the hospital. They were quite terrifying to witness."

Callen saw another tremor go through Hetty at the memories and wondered just how bad Annabel's nightmares had been. What he had witnessed that night at Ric's had been bad enough. He also wondered if Hetty had suffered any herself, though he wasn't quite sure how to broach that subject. Hetty wasn't one to share the tough times easily.

"Did you find what you were looking for? With Rebecca?" Hetty asked, her tone lighter as she steered the conversation away from that time.

"I found out a lot. I'll probably have more questions later, but I believe her," Callen answered. "Hetty, I remember her. Just the one memory at the moment, but I remember being happy, loving her, my father and Amy. I remember having a family." Callen couldn't help but smile at the word family. He had such a big family now. It was one of the few good things to come out of this time.

Hetty smiled with a slight nod at the happy expression on his face. Something she hadn't really expected to see. "I'm glad that after all this time, you have your answers."

"Me too … Thank you, Hetty," Callen added after a moment's pause.

Hetty raised her eyebrows. "For what, Mr Callen?"

"For protecting me as well. For watching over me. Everything you've done."

Callen would probably never know the full extent of Hetty's protection and watchfulness, but considering everything he now knew about what might have been, he was extremely grateful for it. He knew it was above what she would do for a typical work colleague, knew it wasn't just because of her position and because she had been assigned to do it. He knew that Hetty watched over all of his team that little bit more than other teams.

"I can't say that I was just doing my job," Hetty admitted. "You do know that you are what I consider family, don't you?"

Callen held back the shock from showing on his face. This was the closest Hetty had ever gotten to actually saying that she cared about him in a way that was beyond professional. Perhaps there had been a lot more changes in his team - his family - over the last two weeks than he realised.

"I know Hetty. Just as you are a part of mine. This whole team is. I know that, I feel that now."

It wasn't just his dream that had caused Callen to think that. He'd known it for a while. But the shift had come, somewhere in the last two weeks, that meant that life wasn't just about the next mission, but also about what and who he was fighting for and alongside of. There were so many nameless and faceless people out there that he was protecting by doing his job. But there were also several very special, specific people that he would do anything to protect. His family. A family that, in the space of two weeks, had grown beyond his wildest dreams.

Hetty looked at him curiously for a moment, before nodding in satisfaction. "Good. We've secured a place for you all to stay until this is over. Miss Blye and Grey have just left with Grace to go there as well. Rebecca will join them when she is ready. Agent Gibbs will escort her there. You and Annabel are in the same location, though a different apartment to give the two of you some time alone, which I am sure you both need. You should take her somewhere more comfortable to sleep. You've both been through a lot. Sam will take you when you are ready to go. He'll be staying with the others until we are certain this is over."

Callen nodded. "That would be good. Thanks, Hetty."

Safe, protected, close to his family yet some alone time with Annabel. Sounded just about perfect. But then Hetty had arranged it so he shouldn't have expected anything less.

"I'll go get the details ready for you, Mr Callen." Hetty patted his arm reassuringly and started to walk away.

"Hetty," Callen called out before she could disappear around the corner. She stopped and turned back.

"Yes, Mr Callen?"

"G. The name _is_ G. It's not just a letter. It's my name."

Hetty looked mildly surprised, which for Hetty was actually a lot. "I take it there is a story behind the name," she queried.

Callen nodded.

"I would like to hear it one day."

"You will." Hetty had always wanted to know what the G stood for. He'd share it with her sometime, after he'd told Annabel. Perhaps even before Sam, because he stilled owed the two of them for the Nepal conspiracy. One of them needed to pay.

Hetty smiled. "Go wake Annabel, Mr Cal – " She stopped and tilted her head slightly. "Go wake Annabel, G."

Callen couldn't help but grin as Hetty finally called him by his name. It had been a long time coming. Hetty turned and disappeared around the corner but not before Callen caught the smile forming on her face as well.


	58. Chapter 58

_A/N - WOW! 405 reviews! That's amazing. You guys are awesome. Thanks again to everyone for all the support and encouragement. Moving forward, hopefully updates will pick up a little. I'm aiming to get back to two a week at least, maybe three if I'm on a roll._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o  
_

**Chapter 58**

Callen returned to Annabel and sat down carefully on the table beside her, thankful it was a sturdy one. He watched her for a few minutes. She was so beautiful, but not just what he could see. It was way more than that. Marcus hadn't needed to remind him of it in the bar the other night. He already knew. The more he got to know her, the more of it he saw. It was what was inside, the way she was, who she was, what she did and the way she did it. She was so giving, so loving and so protective. Even with everything she had been through. She deserved the same things in the person who loved her. He was determined to be that for her. Determined to be worthy of her loving him.

Callen smiled softly, as he brushed the hair off her face. Her eyes fluttered a little before they opened and looked at him.

Annabel smiled and Callen lent down and kissed her gently on the cheek, just where there was a shadow of a bruise forming from their earlier encounter with Peter.

"Hi," she said, sleep heavy in her voice.

"Hi. You slept." He was still slightly surprised by that fact.

"Yep." A sleepy, yet knowing smile drifted onto her face. "No nightmares."

Callen held back a grin. "Any particular reason?"

He knew what he was hoping for in her answer. Not just because it was a particular good memory, but because he would be extremely pleased if, somehow, he'd helped her survive the horrors of this day by keeping the nightmares at bay even after they had shown up for real.

"I just can't help but see something else when I close my eyes these days," Annabel answered softly as she reached her hand out, took his and brought it to her lips. Lips that were warm and soft and brought back memories of being with her.

"Come on," Callen said trying to focus on something else. "Hetty's got somewhere more comfortable for you to sleep."

Annabel smiled again but didn't make a move to get up, her fingers still entwined with his. "Only if it's with you, otherwise I'll just stay here."

Callen grinned and stood up. "Definitely with me," he agreed as he gently pulled her up and into his arms. She stumbled a little as she tried to find her feet.

"How did it go? With your mother?" Annabel asked as she blinked rapidly and tried to focus better. She wondered just when the drugs would wear off because this was not normally like her when it came to waking up. Sleepy, yes. Not quite in control of physical movement, like the stumble just now, no.

"Good. I'll tell you about it later. Need to tell you one thing first, before we go and get some decent sleep."

Annabel frowned and focused on him. "What is it?" she asked. She couldn't quite place his look at the moment. She wasn't sure if he was serious as in bad or something else. She felt him pull her a little closer.

"It's about John. He's alive."

Annabel's eyes went wide in shock. Her breath stopped briefly in her lungs and the world spun in front of her eyes as she felt her legs give way underneath her. But she didn't fall. Callen held her tight, not allowing her to collapse. She held onto him too, wondering if perhaps she was still asleep and dreaming.

"He's alive? How?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She could barely hear it in her own ears over the rushing of the blood and her pounding heart.

"Yes, he's alive. He is the other member of The Twelve Graham mentioned. The one he couldn't name. He's in a hospital in Cincinnati. He's going to be fine."

Callen and Rebecca had called the hospital to check, before he'd left her in Nate's office, just so he knew what to tell Annabel.

"What happened?" she asked softly, the relief evident in her voice.

Callen felt her regain her strength and her breathing even out as she straightened up, but she still clung to him. He knew the news would shock her but at least this time it was good news.

"He was following Mitch, trying to get a lead on Peter," Callen explained gently. "Apparently he was involved in a car accident, nothing to do with Mitch. He has a broken hip and a few other minor injuries, but should be as good as new with a little time and rehab. You can call him if you want."

John's alive. Part of The Twelve. Mitch didn't… Annabel let out a slow breath. As much as she wanted to hear John's voice, the sound of her mentor, the man she felt almost as close to as her father, she wasn't ready. He knew about what had happened to her. John had gone over her head when she hadn't been able to face telling him what had happen and he had asked Graham for permission to speak to the psychologist, to find out what he was up against in getting her ready to return to work. As her mentor and trainer, it had been his job to make sure she was fit, both mentally and physically, to return to duty. He didn't know the full details; just a rough description and the emotional effects and she'd made him promise not to tell anyone. He'd kept that promise as she had known he would. He'd also kept the promise that he would always be there for her. She knew that, even over the phone, he would sense something bad had gone down and as far as she knew, he didn't know that Peter had been the one responsible for the torture and her nightmares. She certainly wasn't ready to tell him that. Telling Grey about what had happened earlier had been hard enough. She also knew she had a lot more talks to go with him, because she had promised Grey that one day soon, she would tell him more about that time. She'd confided in Callen and that had helped. She just had to figure out the right way to explain everything to Grey so as not to hurt him.

"Maybe tomorrow," Annabel answered quietly as she placed her head on Callen's shoulder and took a few deep breaths. Callen's hand ran up and down in back in a relaxing way and she started to feel sleep settling onto her. She pulled back slightly and gave Callen an apologetic smile. "We should go, before I fall asleep here again."

They walked slowly to find Hetty. Callen kept his arm around Annabel's waist. She kept herself closely tucked into him, her head returned to its resting place on his shoulder. Right now she needed that closeness to help reassure her that this was real, not just a dream. Callen was sure it wasn't that comfortable for her but it didn't seem to bother her and she seemed to want to be there, so he didn't say anything.

They stopped at Hetty's desk and Hetty handed him a key and a piece of paper as she gave them both a gentle reassuring smile.

"Eric has sent the location to your GPS," Hetty told them. "Your things are already in the car waiting, as is Sam. Get some rest. I'll see you both tomorrow."

Callen nodded, grateful for Hetty's organisational talents. "Thanks Hetty." He started to move away but Annabel didn't follow. She unexpectedly let go and stepped away from him. Callen stopped, turned around and watched the exchange between two of the most important women in his life with interest.

Annabel stood there facing Hetty for a moment. She felt the tears push against her eyes and instead of fighting them, she let them fall.

"It's over Hetty. He's gone. He's really gone right? He can't get us again," she said, emotion filling her voice.

Hetty stepped close to Annabel and looked up at her. Callen could see the shine of tears in Hetty's eyes as well. Hetty put her arms around Annabel as did Annabel to Hetty.

"Yes, my dear. He is gone," Hetty said softly. "It is a great relief knowing that. I am sorry you had to face him again."

Whilst Hetty had spoken softly, in the quiet of the office the words had drifted to Callen's ears. It gave him a moment of concern as he wondered just how much this had haunted the two of them. Had they been living in fear these last seven years that whoever had taken them would find them again?

Annabel smiled as she glanced at Callen through the film of tears blurring her eyes. "But at least I wasn't alone."

Annabel had no idea how she would have gone facing Peter alone. It was one thing to be determined to make whoever had taken Zoe from her pay, as she had mentioned to Nate. It was another thing entirely to be faced with finding out that he was the same person from that other horror in her life. Without Callen, she was almost positive that she wouldn't have coped at all. She'd barely held on as it was seeing her tormentor's face again. Callen's arms around her, his scent, his voice combined with the picture of Zoe that she'd held in her mind as much as she could, were the only things that had given her some semblance of control, and a reason to fight through the terror and pain. Because the memory of the pain had resurfaced too, not just the emotional terror.

"He's a good man, Annabel," Hetty said quietly for her ears only. "He won't let you down, if you can let him be there for you."

Annabel looked down at Hetty, tilted her head slightly and smiled. "I know. He's already proven that." She reached down and kissed Hetty on her cheek. "And he already knows I love him, Hetty."

Hetty nodded and let her go. Annabel stepped back and walked over to join Callen again. She slipped her arm around his waist and his settled very gently across her shoulders.

Hetty smiled at the two of them again, a gentle pleased smile. They both deserved someone in their lives, and she couldn't have chosen better if she had of planned this. Which, whilst their meeting had been because of her, the relationship had been entirely their own doing.

Callen returned Hetty's smile as Annabel lent in closer to his side, before he turned away and they headed to his car and Sam.

Annabel fell asleep during the car ride. There wasn't much that Callen was ready to talk about and Sam seemed to understand this. So even though the car ride was in silence, it was a comfortable one, both men taking comfort in it in different ways.

For Sam, the biggest comfort was that Callen was finally safe and had answers to questions that he knew had been bothering him for years.

For Callen, it wasn't so much for himself, but for Annabel and Hetty. Having witnessed the exchange between the two of them just before they left the office, combined with his knowledge of what had happened to Annabel and what his mother had told him about Peter, his concern for the two of them and what they had been through grew and he was extremely glad that they were safe. That neither of them would have to face Peter again. He was glad that everyone else was safe and that he had answers, but it wasn't the strongest emotion in him at the moment.

Callen gently woke Annabel once he had opened her door. She looked at him and smiled ruefully.

"Guess I'm making up for all those years of not sleeping much."

Callen reached for her hand and helped her out of the car. "When was the last time you slept properly? Between Daniel, the flight, Atlanta and everything, it's been what? A few days?"

Sam grabbed the bags out of the trunk as Callen slipped his arm around Annabel and guided her toward the building. Callen kept hold of her as it was already dark and, even though the path to the front of the apartment building was lit, he wanted to make sure she made it without tripping.

"Probably. But I was sleeping pretty well before that," Annabel replied as they walked up the steps to the entry door and through, as Sam opened it for them.

"Maybe for the few days things were quiet in London, but aside from that it's been pretty much two weeks of not much sleep. You need more."

"So do you," Annabel replied.

"I don't sleep a lot," Callen replied automatically. Annabel looked over at him, slight disbelief on her face as well as a small grin.

By then they had arrived at the door to the small apartment Hetty had secured for them.

"Hetty arranged some food. Not sure what but she's assured us that it's edible. Remember, just across the hall if you need me," Sam said as he put the bags down by the door. "Make sure you lock up."

"I will, Sam. Thanks," Callen said.

Annabel stepped away from Callen, surprising him by hugging Sam. Sam hugged her back which also surprised him. Then Annabel stood on her toes and kissed Sam on the cheek.

"Thanks," she added softly before moving back to Callen. Sam smiled at her and nodded, before he slipped through the door right across from theirs to the apartment he would be in with the others.

Callen unlocked the door, grabbed their bags and they stepped inside to the small studio apartment.

"So those few night in London? You slept then," Annabel reminded Callen.

Callen turned around after locking the door and pulled her into his arms. He looked down at her and smiled. "Okay. So maybe I've been sleeping a little better than normal too. Guess we're good for each other."

Annabel rose up on her toes and brushed her lips lightly across his. "More than good," she whispered.

Annabel slipped out of his arms, moved over to the bed and sat down. She slipped off her shoes and laid back down with a soft groan.

"Okay, so maybe that couch wasn't as comfortable as I thought." Her eyes drifted closed and she knew it wouldn't take much to fall asleep.

Callen stepped over to her, grabbed her hands and carefully pulled her back up. Annabel opened her eyes and looked at him, curious.

"Shower, nice and hot," Callen said. "You're still injured. Sleeping on the couch wouldn't have helped."

Callen watched as something changed in Annabel's eyes, the tiredness moved to the background a touch and she slipped her arms around his neck.

"Join me?" she asked softly, desire and need mingling in her voice.

Callen's arms went around her and he held her against him. She was so close, fitted so well with him and he felt the need to be with her, to forget how close they had come to dying, to celebrate the fact that they were alive. But he felt the tiredness in himself and could see it in her eyes still, even if it was almost hidden behind the other emotions he could see in.

"Just a shower," he said. "You need to rest. We both do. I'm not letting you go, Annabel," he assured her. "Not unless you can look me in the eye and tell me you don't want me in your life." Callen lifted a hand to her face and stroked her cheek. "I love you."

Annabel held his hand against her cheek and closed her eyes briefly. "I love you too. I want you in my life. I need you in my life. After Daniel, I didn't think I could do it again. Didn't think I could let someone close, let them see … I didn't think that I'd find someone who could handle all of this baggage I've got."

Callen moved his hand up to the back of her head and pulled her close, forehead to forehead, just as he had on the plane. "I've got just as much. Didn't think I'd find someone either. We make a great pair."

"Perfect fit," Annabel whispered.

Callen smiled as she used his words. "Perfect fit," he repeated softly. "Now, shower, some food and then bed."


	59. Chapter 59

_A/N - As always, thanks for the awesome support on this story. If there are any questions or things that you don't feel I've clarified or cleared up, please let me know. I'm in the process of writing and editing the last chapters and would like to make sure I wrap everything up satisfactorily.  
_

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

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_

**Chapter 59 **

Annabel woke the next morning to the feel of a warm body next to hers, arms wrapped around her and the soft thud of a beating heart under her ear where her head rested on a warm, comfortable chest. This time she knew everything was perfect and she knew why. She was beside the man she loved, who loved her. They were safe.

Callen had been awake for a while, having slept well yet again with Annabel by his side. He heard her breathing change slightly as she woke up, just as the dawn was starting to brighten the room and he felt her smile against him. He was right where he wanted to be.

Annabel lifted her head and smiled at him. She moved up and kissed him. Callen slipped his hand into her hair and held her there, kissed her back, the desire and need from the previous night which had been dampened by tiredness returned easily and fully. When Annabel started to laugh, Callen was slightly confused. She pulled back and there was a sparkle in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I just had this feeling my dad was watching again."

Callen grinned as he too remembered her birthday and the subsequent interruption which turned out to be his first meeting with her father.

"There's no one else here, just us," Callen reminded her softly. He stayed still and waited for her to decide if she wanted to continue where they were headed. The shower last night had reminded him that she was still quite considerably bruised, something he kept forgetting. The good thing was most of them seemed to be fading now, aside from the fresh one on her face, but the marks still made him worry about hurting her.

"Just us," Annabel whispered and lowered her lips back to his, signalling to him that her need for him was just as strong as his for her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Callen ran his fingers lightly up her bare back. Annabel's wandered over his chest and the shoulder that her head wasn't on, no particular pattern in mind, she was just enjoying the feel of him. The scars tempted her to ask, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know how they happened. It wasn't like she couldn't imagine. Plus, she was enjoying feeling safe beside him, not needing to protect him from some unknown pursuer anymore and she just wanted to enjoy that.

"Where do we go from here?" Callen asked.

Annabel lifted her head and frowned, obvious confusion on her face at his question.

Callen smiled reassuringly at her. "What's next now this is over? For us."

Understanding dawned on Annabel's face. "I'm not really sure," she admitted. It wasn't that she didn't want this relationship to continue; she did, more than anything. She just hadn't thought too much about the how. "I haven't really had a chance to think that far ahead. First though, you have a mother, sister and niece to get to know and I need to go home."

Sadness crept across her face and Callen held her tighter as she continued.

"I need to tell Mum and Dad about Zoe, about what really happened to her." She blinked back the tears that she could feel trying to push their way out. She didn't want to cry right now. Times were good again and she held onto that.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Callen asked. He knew her parents would be supportive and caring but it was going to come as quite a shock to them and he didn't want her to have to face that conversation alone.

Annabel smiled and shook her head. "I'll be fine. I need to go home for more than that. I need a little time with them, need to be taken care of again."

She realised what she had just said and closed her eyes briefly. "That didn't quite come out right. I know you can take care of me. It's just…" She stopped as she tried to figure out how to explain it. She rested her head back against his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his chest, her body moulding to his easily before she continued.

"There's this quaint cottage, just outside a little friendly village in Ireland. There are two people there who know me so well that I don't have to tell them what I need; they just know. There's this little ginger cat, Tiffy, who is about six months old. She loves to curl up on your feet or your lap whilst you read and will nudge the book gently if you turn too many pages without giving her a little scratch on the head."

Annabel smiled at the memories before continued painting a picture for Callen. He could almost see it and he could feel how she relaxed in his arms even more as she spoke of it.

"There's a bedroom that's waiting for me whenever I need it, a fire ready to be lit if it gets too cold. There's a beautiful garden to sit in that always has some flower blooming somewhere sending a new scent floating whenever the breeze blows. There's this hill with a tree on top that you can sit under all day in the shade. It's the perfect place to think, or not think, and relax. Whilst you're sitting there you can smell the wildflowers that are down in the valley when the breeze blows up, you can hear the birds chirping in the woods not too far from it and, on a really quiet day, you can hear the waves crashing into the bottom of the cliffs that are a few miles away. But most importantly, it's a place full of love. It's home like nothing else is. A place where I am safe and welcomed and loved and taken care of. And I need a little of that right now."

The tears formed again and Annabel raised her head. Callen brushed away the couple that managed to fall and she smiled at him.

"And if you didn't have your mother and sister and niece who you need to spend some time with, I'd be begging you to come home with me. I don't want to leave right now, but I _need_ to go home."

There had been so many changes in her life, and whilst most of them had been for the better, she needed a little stability, a little familiarity and a little pampering to help get over the things that hadn't been so good. Something secure, something she knew she could depend on, something she knew would help her heal, as it always had. It wasn't that Callen and being with him wouldn't do that for her. She was sure it would, but she just needed home right now.

Callen stroked her cheek and reassured her. "It's okay. Just as long as you don't mind if I end up coming to you anyway."

Fourteen hours had been long enough, but he understood what she needed, even if he hadn't experienced a home like that. The Rostoff's had been a great place but he hadn't been in it for long, though he could still remember the safety and security he felt there.

Annabel smiled. "Anytime."

Callen knew she meant it. It wasn't just a placating comment. He could see it in her eyes that he was welcome in that place with her.

"How long do you think you'll need?" he asked. She needed this and he didn't want to spoil that precious time she was looking for with her parents.

Annabel shrugged. "I don't really know. There's so much to figure out. So much has changed. Two or three weeks maybe. It'll give the shoulder time to heal as well. I shouldn't need as long as I did after Zoe and…" She let out a shaky breath. "It took a few months for me to get sorted after those times."

Callen tucked her hair behind her ear. "Call me if you want me to come, otherwise I come as soon as I can."

"Don't rush. Get to know them. I promise I'll be there or I'll be on my way back here." Annabel rested her head back down and closed her eyes. They were the only two places she wanted to be. By his side or in that little piece of heaven with her parents.

Callen tightened his arms around her. He really didn't want to let her go so far away from him. After everything they had been through, he wanted to forget the dramas and just have a quiet time, living a normal life. He mentally shook his head at those thoughts. His life was never going to be normal, but a couple of days of normal, typical and boring (at least compared to what life was normally like) he wouldn't mind right now.

"When do you want to go?"

"Once Hetty gives us the all clear. I'll get Grey to take me home. Not sure I want to risk a flight on my own, just in case."

"If Grey can't, I will," Callen promised. He knew she was referring to the nightmares and he certainly understood her reluctance to be alone somewhere that she might fall asleep. "Sam said you spoke to Grey."

Annabel nodded against his shoulder. "I told him who Peter was, but I couldn't … I couldn't tell him the rest, not yet. I've promised him I will though. Just need time to make sure I explain everything properly."

"You know he will understand." Callen stroked her back reassuringly as he spoke. "Even if you get the words wrong. He knows you well. He's not going to be upset with you or walk away from you. He just wants to help."

"I know." Annabel gave a soft chuckle. "He's a bit like you."

Annabel's stomach rumbled before Callen had a chance to reply to that and he grinned. "Hungry?" His started as well, reminding him of that night at Gibbs' house so long ago. It wasn't really that long, barely a week, give or take a day or two.

Annabel lifted her head, grinned back and shook her head slightly. "As if you aren't." Reluctantly she pulled herself away from his warmth, got out of bed and dragged the top sheet off to wrap around her.

"Let's see what Hetty has left us for breakfast," she said, as she moved to the small kitchen area.

Callen stayed where he was on the bed and watched her. He was sure it wasn't going to be easy to let her get on that plane and leave, but he would, because she needed it. She looked over at him.

"You want breakfast in bed do you?" Annabel asked with a teasing lift of her eyebrows.

"Already had that." Callen caught her gaze with his and, even from this distance could see the deepening of the colour in her eyes at the memories of earlier. "Just looking for some food now," he added.

Callen saw the heat that made its way to her cheeks and smiled. He stood up, walked over to join her and slipped his arms around her waist pulling her back slightly into his body. He placed some gentle kisses along her neck and shoulder as he breathed in that unique scent that was her.

Annabel's hands stopped working on the bread she had about to get out of the bag and toast. Her head dropped back against his shoulder which gave Callen better access. His touch was so very distracting and enjoyable. Annabel couldn't help her reaction to him now that she didn't have to fight it and try to keep them safe; not that she'd been able to stop it that easily before.

Callen didn't think he would ever get tired of the way she responded to him. He liked that he became her focus when he kissed her.

"I know what my name is," he said as his fingers played with her soft hair. She tilted her head to look at him, interest in her eyes.

"What is it?"

Callen turned her around in his arms. "G or Callen. I was Callen to them. G was a nickname." He told her the story and she smiled.

"Very cute. I wonder if she has pictures from back then," Annabel said as she rested her head down on his shoulder. "I'm glad you know now. I know it bothered you."

The amount of information this woman in his arms filed away in her mind surprised him. He'd never spoken to her about how his lack of a name had been a problem, how he had wondered about it so often. The only time she would have heard anything about it was that day in Washington, when Graham had explained everything. He wondered just how well she knew him. It was probably a whole lot more than he thought. Her instincts, her intuition. Those two would help her understand him in a way few people had ever been able to. Jennifer, Hetty and Sam being the only others that seemed so in tune with him. Gibbs was good, but not as good as them.

Annabel raised her head to look at him. "What do you want me to call you?"

She'd always called him Callen, but that was before he knew what his name was. He really wasn't sure what he wanted.

"I don't know," Callen replied honestly. "Whatever you want, I guess. So much has happened as Callen, in some way it feels like my name."

Annabel smiled at him; a touch of mischief appearing in it that had him very curious.

"What?" he asked.

"Just want to test something out."

Annabel rose up on her toes and whispered his name in his ear.

"G."

Just the letter, but his reaction was instant. Callen wasn't quite sure if it had to do with hearing his name on her lips, the feel of her warm breath over his ear and neck or perhaps it may have had something to do with the sheet dropping to her waist as she reached up at the same time to wrap her arms around his neck and her body pressed against his intimately. It reminded him of what he had witnessed in her when he'd tested out her name after the birthday party. Suddenly he was very interested for a repeat of what had happened after that.

Annabel pulled her head back and looked at him with a grin. He noted the colour of her eyes which was a giveaway to him for what she was wanting. The same thing as him.

"Interesting reaction," she said. "Now how about we try the other name."

Callen shook his head and picked her up, leaving the sheet lying on the kitchen floor as he carried her back to bed. "Another time. Not hungry for food anymore. Though I am looking for seconds of breakfast."

He laid her carefully on the bed and followed her down. Annabel reached up to touch his face lovingly.

"I love you G Callen, with all of my heart. Whatever name you want me to use won't change that."

Callen saw it in her eyes, the deep green passion-filled eyes. The eyes that told him she wanted him as much as he wanted her. The eyes that told him she loved him even more than that. The eyes that he wanted to see every day. He hoped she could see the same in his, though it worried him that she wouldn't. He'd spent so much time hiding his real self from just about everyone. He wanted her to see him, to know how he felt about things. About everything but especially his feelings for her.

Callen lowered his head and kissed her, making sure that he at least showed her with his actions how much he loved, needed and wanted her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

They were lying on the bed together, having had some breakfast eventually, when there was a knock on the door. They'd been talking for a while. Callen had been telling Annabel more about his conversation with his mother. It was helping him get everything straight in his head.

Callen pulled on his pants and grabbed his gun, just in case, before he stepped over to the door and looked out the peep hole. He frowned when he couldn't see anyone and cocked his gun ready before he opened the door carefully, just a crack. His gaze drifted down to see Hetty looking up at him.

"Hetty." A touch of relief in his voice as he opened the door more fully.

"Mr … G, I didn't mean to disturb anything." Hetty raised her eyebrows as she looked over his attire. A pair of pants with the button not done up and no shirt.

Callen grinned. "You didn't Hetty. An hour ago maybe you would have," he teased cheekily.

Hetty smiled and Callen stepped back to invite her into the room, after a brief glance to make sure Annabel was presentable. He wasn't quite sure how she had managed to get dressed so quickly but she was definitely more presentable, at least from Hetty's point of view. He'd much prefer her the way she had been.

"Annabel. I trust you are feeling more rested today."

Even from this distance Callen could see the slight tinge of pink that blossomed on Annabel's cheeks at the implication behind Hetty's tone. The words were innocent enough but not the tone. Something had obviously put Hetty in a good mood to be teasing so openly and easily.

"What can we do for you Hetty? Any news?" Callen asked as he closed and locked the door.

"Yes. It is over. Definitely. CIA have taken down the bulk of the organisation and have frozen the majority of the assets. They have managed to question those close to Peter and Richard and know that it was a person vendetta that the rest of the organisation wasn't involved in. Only a few employees that were close to them knew about it. There is still work to be done, but it is mainly a mop-up operation now. Admittedly, a mop-up operation that could take some time, given the extent of the organisation. But the CIA and MI6 will be responsible for that, considering the connection with The Twelve. However, we all feel that it is safe enough for you to resume a somewhat normal life, though we will be monitoring the operation in case we need to change that. Agent Gibbs is continuing his liaison role with them at present."

Callen's lips twitched with a suppressed smile. He was sure Gibbs' was thoroughly _loving_ his liaison role.

Annabel stepped over to join them and slipped her arm around Callen. "So we don't have to hide anymore?"

Callen's arm tightened around her. He knew what this meant. She was free to leave.

"Yes. And in celebration, I have organised a picnic lunch for everyone. Nate and Eric are currently at the beach securing an area for us. I am on my way to pick up the food and in twenty minutes, Sam is expecting the two of you to walk out of this door and he will drive you there. It is about time we all had a chance to relax and enjoy ourselves."

"Sounds great Hetty, but I could drive. Just need-"

Callen stopped as Hetty shook her head.

"Twenty four hours. I believe that is what the doctor said, wasn't it?"

Callen nodded with a slight roll of his eyes. Typical of Hetty to know that even though he hadn't told her.

"Twenty minutes then," Hetty added as she stepped to the door. She glanced back at Annabel. "It is over my dear," Hetty reminded her. "Take comfort in that."

"I will," Annabel said with a smile. Hetty stepped out and closed the door behind her.

Callen turned Annabel in his arms and looked down at her with a frown. "You thought it wasn't?"

"Hetty knows that sometimes I need to hear things a few times before I … let go of them I guess you could say. Like I need a little more confirmation than just the once."

"How much has this worried you? Him being out there."

Annabel looked away briefly, a leftover trait from not talking about that time. She knew how easily Grey could read her and it had been self-preservation, but her gaze found its way back to him quickly. He already knew and she trusted him completely. There was no reason to turn away.

"It's always been in the back of my mind. Graham refused to send me out if it looked like a mission might be connected to that same group. Or to that country again. He wasn't going to take the risk that they might get me or we might cross paths with someone and that I wouldn't be able to handle it. Grey and Shawn were great. Neither of them complained about being held back from those missions. They didn't want to go through it again either."

Annabel knew that in most cases the three of them were well suited to those missions but Graham had felt that he would rather not risk losing them as team. He'd been there through her recovery, making sure she was okay and not being pushed too hard to become active again. He was patient with her because he wanted her back. She's appreciated that and it had helped her to know she was a worthy asset that they still wanted.

"It took a while for it to get through my head in the hospital when I woke up that I was safe. Grey kept telling me every time I opened my eyes after that initial time, just to help me remember. I guess she remembers that too."

"Does that count for everything?" Callen asked softly.

Annabel smiled. "If you are referring to me needing you to tell me how you feel to make sure I remember, then no. I know you love me. Though it doesn't mean I won't enjoy hearing it often, but I know you do … here," she said as she placed her hand over her heart.

Callen cupped her chin and tilted her face up to him. "I love you Annabel Jane Robinson. I always will."

She rose up on her toes and brushed her lips over his. "I love you too, G Callen. Now, how about we get ready for this picnic? I noticed Hetty left a bag by the door so I'm guessing she has organised 'suitable attire' for the outing."

Callen stepped over and picked up the bag. He glanced in it and almost groaned at what was on the top. He looked at Annabel and grinned ruefully.

"Hetty has some cruel forms of punishment."

Annabel raised her eyebrows and stepped over next to him. He put his hand in the bag and pulled out a purple bikini.

"I'm pretty sure this isn't for you," Annabel said as she took it from his hands.

"No," Callen pulled her close, "but you wearing it when we are with other people _is_ going to be the punishment. Especially since she's only given us twenty minutes to get ready."

"I think she is planning an even crueller punishment than just that." Annabel held up the 'offending' item.

"How?" Callen asked, slightly dreading the answer. Annabel knew Hetty well and he could already tell how difficult it was going to be today, at least until they were back here alone.

Annabel grinned and held it up better for him to see. "You are going to need to tie up the straps. I can't reach behind my back yet with my shoulder like this."

This time Callen did groan. "You know what, let's get you ready now, because I'm probably going to need a cold shower before we leave."

Annabel chuckled. "I don't have to wear it, you know. I'm not even sure I'll be up to swimming." She frowned and her hand went unconsciously to the bruises she still had on her stomach. The bikini Hetty had chosen certainly wouldn't cover them.

"Annabel, what's bothering you?"

She looked up at him. "It's just … It's one thing to know they are there, it's another thing to reveal them for everyone to see."

"Especially Grey," Callen concluded, knowing he wasn't in that everyone because he had already seen them. He also knew that she wasn't the kind of woman who was concerned about looks, which was how he had come to the Grey connection so easily.

"Especially Grey," she confirmed softly, worry heavy in her tone. "He has enough to worry about with me at the moment."

"I don't think he's going to worry too much about the bruises considering everything else. He already knows they are there. Come on, we had better get ready before Sam knocks down the door."


	60. Chapter 60

_A/N Take 1 - Thanks for the amazing support on this story. I wish I could express just how encouraging the reviews, alerting, favouriting and pm's have been over the past six months._

_Thanks to angelprincesslilac who suggested the picnic idea. I hope you all enjoy._

_Additional A/N at the end.  
_

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o  
_

**Chapter 60**

Callen and Annabel walked out the door to find Sam waiting patiently for them.

Sam cocked an eyebrow and held back a smile. "Twenty two minutes, G. You're late."

Callen rolled his eyes, thinking how close it had come to being a lot more than two minutes late.

"Good morning to you too, Sam."

Sam grinned. "You're in a cheery mood this morning. Have a good night did you?" he teased them as they walked along the corridor to the stairs.

"We slept last night Sam," Callen said.

Annabel chuckled even before Sam commented.

"Must have been a very good morning then."

Callen started wondering just how well she knew Sam. It was almost like she was expecting something like that.

"Where's Grace and the others?" Callen asked in an attempt to divert the conversation away from a topic that he was trying to keep his mind off. As they walked out of the apartment block, Callen slid his arm around Annabel. It felt so right walking with her so close beside him. His personal space didn't seem to be an issue with her. He'd always needed a certain amount of space in general between himself and someone else, but not so with her. Keeping her close seemed natural, seemed right.

"Gibbs is with the CIA keeping an eye on things," Sam answered. "Grey and Kensi have taken Grace and Rebecca to the beach already. They left about ten minutes ago."

Annabel spent the car trip in silence with a smile on her face as she listened to the light hearted banter between Callen and Sam. She was glad to see they were both relaxed enough to enjoy the teasing. It had been a while since she had heard them like this.

They arrived at the beach, hopped out of the car and headed over to the spot that had been prepared for them. How Hetty did her miracles they were never quite sure, but she had done it again. There were a couple of tables with drinks and food, under some gazebo type shade and towels were already laid out on the sand. She must have been planning this since yesterday or very early this morning.

Grey glanced over from where he was helping Hetty lay out the food. He smiled at Annabel. Callen noticed it was more than just a hello smile. He was checking her out to make sure she was all right. As they stepped closer Grey said, "You are swimming right, Bel. You're not going to chicken out?"

Callen looked down at her.

Annabel shrugged. "I don't really like swimming at the beach. Too cold."

Callen raised his eyebrows only slightly, wondering if that was a real excuse or just something she was hoping Grey would buy and then she wouldn't have to worry about him seeing the bruises.

"But we're not in England anymore," Grey reminded her. "The water will be nice and warm by comparison."

The look on Grey's face, (the slight frown, the increase in intensity of his gaze as he looked at Annabel,) told Callen that Grey definitely wasn't buying it, but simply playing along and letting it go ... for now.

"Maybe," Annabel replied.

The non-committal tone, and slight reluctance that he could her in her voice, confirmed Callen's previous thoughts. He guided the two of them over to the towels and commandeered a couple at the back, putting their things down on one of them.

Callen glanced around the nearby beach areas and, after a brief inspection where he didn't spot the rest of them, he turned to Hetty.

"Hetty?"

"Yes G?"

Callen couldn't help the grin that formed on his face, especially at the look on Sam's when he heard Hetty refer to him as G.

"Kensi and the others?" he asked. "Thought they were already here."

"They are. Eric and Kensi have somehow managed to abscond with Nate in an attempt to get him on a surfboard. Rebecca and Grace are down by the water." Hetty indicated their general direction with a brief wave of her hand. "I think they are looking for a little time to talk alone."

Callen looked around and spotted his mother and niece easily, now he knew where to look. Then he turned his attention to looking for Nate, because he seriously wanted to witness Nate on a surfboard.

"Shall we take a walk and try and find them?" Annabel suggested with a soft knowing smile. Callen took her hand and they started walking toward the water.

"This I gotta see," Sam remarked as he joined them.

.x.x.x.x.

Callen was sitting on the towel with Annabel leaning back against him, similar to the night in the woods. They'd already finished their lunch and he was indulging in the feel of her near him as well as looking around at his team; his family.

Hetty and Rebecca were talking quietly together whilst they ate from the simple banquet Hetty had organised. She had decided to keep it simple and easy, so it had consisted of sandwiches, fruit and salads with cakes and biscuits for dessert. The tension between the two of them from yesterday had definitely disappeared. One day he might ask Hetty about her relationship with Rebecca, but for now, it looked like things were going well. Which was good. Very good. He was glad those two motherly type women in his life were getting on.

Callen's gaze moved to Grace, who was sitting next to Eric and smiling at something he'd said. Kensi was with them as well and the young folk – oddly enough, that thought didn't actually make him feel old – seemed like they were enjoying each others company.

Nate was sitting next to Sam. Callen couldn't help the grin that crossed his face as he remembered Nate from earlier, dragging himself out of the surf and refusing to touch the surfboard again, having tried over half a dozen times to stand up on it and not once been successful. Callen was pretty sure there had been at least two times that Nate had come up for air directly under the surfboard, the slight marks on his forehead evidence to that possibility. The two men were talking in soft tones that Callen couldn't hear. He saw both of them glance across at him and Nate quickly averted his gaze, like he'd been caught. Sam smiled, a slight lopsided smile that was perhaps more of a smirk than anything else, and then turned back to continue talking with Nate.

Callen had a pretty good idea what they were talking about. He knew from the intensity of Nate's gaze on him as he'd sat there with Annabel that Nate really wanted to know more about what happened whilst they were away. Nate would be extremely interested to know what had made him so willing to accept this woman he barely knew by his side.

Except Nate would be wrong if he thought he barely knew Annabel. Time wise, yes. Two weeks was an incredibly short period of time, but with everything they had been through together, he knew her almost as well as he knew Sam. He knew so much about what she had been through, the things that had happened to make her the kind of woman she was, the kind of agent she was. He also knew every scar on her body and what each one had come from. The bullet wounds (3), the grazes (2) and the knife marks (4). Most of them were so light and healed that you couldn't see them, except at certain angles, but he had felt them. He'd asked her about them this morning, before they'd started to talk about his conversation with his mother. He'd wanted to ask when he'd first found them, but had been slightly distracted. And she knew his now too. She didn't know the story behind all of them (way too many to have filled her in this morning on the stories behind each of them), but she knew how he got each and every one.

The visual relationship that Callen had with Annabel was so different to the Callen that Nate knew of, and that would be the driving force behind the curiosity Callen could see on Nate's face. Maybe one day he'd tell Nate. It might be a useful tool to avoid talking about something else to the psychologist in one of those enforced psych evaluations or mission debriefings.

Callen placed a lingering gentle kiss on the top of Annabel's head. He knew Sam would be able to explain everything to Nate, probably already had in Sam's unique way of wrapping a situation up in a few words, even if it wouldn't be enough for Nate's probing mind. Sam knew him well enough, had been there over these last two weeks and witnessed everything. Sam might have been surprised by what happened, and how quickly, but he would know that it was real. Callen caught the two of them looking at Kensi next and smiled. Looks like the conversation had moved off him.

Callen followed them and turned his gaze to Kensi. He really liked what he saw in her. She seemed happy and relaxed, more so than normal – like she was coming out of her shell and being herself around them a little more. It may have to do with the tension and stress of the last two weeks being gone, or perhaps that shift that he'd seen in her that night in the hotel room in Washington. Then there was the Marcus factor. He was pretty sure Marcus definitely had something to do with the change in her.

Annabel tilted her head into his neck and asked gently, "What's on your mind?"

Callen looked down at her and smiled, dropped a kiss on her lips and then looked briefly around him before he turned his gaze back to her upturned face.

"So much has changed. For the better. I have my mother back. I have a niece and a sister. My family. I know who my father was and what kind of man he was. I've got a pretty good idea where I come from. It's more than just them though. Sam, Kensi, Eric and Nate. Hetty. They're all a part of it too. These last two weeks have been … bad, but so much good has come out of it. We're all safe again. We're free and there are so many opportunities for where all of this goes from here."

Callen stroked her face tenderly. "Two weeks ago I didn't know you existed. Now, I can't imagine my life without you in it." That admission was as far from the lone wolf he had been two weeks ago as you could get, and he was thrilled at how easily it had been to say.

Annabel smiled at his words. She reached up, slipped her hand behind his head and pulled his head down close for a kiss. A deeper kiss than he had expected.

He pulled back when he heard a loud whistle. Sam.

Annabel giggled; a sound he really hoped he would hear more often from her now things were over. Callen glanced over at Sam and grinned.

"You've got a room for that, you know," Sam teased.

"Jealous Sam?"

Sam grinned. "Of?"

"I got the pretty girl," Callen replied.

Sam shook his head. "I'm not Renko. Not jealous." Sam's tone changed to the mumma voice he did so well. "It's just so good to see you with a nice girl."

Callen arm's tightened slightly around Annabel as he whispered in her ear, "Naughty and nice," as he remembered this morning.

Annabel looked up at him and grinned. "Oh, you haven't seen naughty yet." Their eyes locked and he wanted nothing more than to take her back to the apartment and find out just what she meant by that.

"Hey, you two," Grey called out pulling both of them away from thoughts that perhaps weren't appropriate to have with so much company.

Annabel turned back to look at her brother with a roll of her eyes. His timing had always been annoying.

"Coming for a swim?" Grey asked as he stood up, along with Kensi and Sam.

Annabel shrugged and Callen felt the slight increase in tension in her body.

"Nate?" Kensi asked as she turned to Nate with a sparkle in her eye that hinted at mischief.

Nate shook his head firmly. "Not if there is a surfboard in the vicinity."

There was a collective laugh from all those who had witnessed Nate's earlier attempts and Callen caught the reddening of his face that encompassed both cheeks and neck.

"No surfboard," Kensi assured him, "maybe just a frisbee."

Grace stood up followed by Eric. "I'm in," they said simultaneously before grinning at each other and then following the others who had already started heading to the water.

"What do you say?" Callen asked Annabel. She looked up at him.

"Don't think I'm up to chasing a frisbee around."

"So, just relax in the water with me."

Annabel looked like she was contemplating that idea. She moved away from him and stood up. She bit her lip, like she was nervous, as she looked down at him.

"Can I keep the shirt on?" she asked.

Callen grinned. "Nope. I didn't tie up those straps to have them covered." He stood up and moved close, his hands reaching for the bottom of her shirt though he didn't do anything more. "Grey's already gone," Callen assured her softly. "I can have you in the water before he sees anything."

Callen saw the nervousness leave her and a teasing smile spread across her face as her eyes lit up. "I wasn't thinking of leaving the shirt on for Grey. Thought it might make Hetty's punishment a little less … difficult."

"It's a white shirt. On or off, isn't going to make a difference to how _difficult_ this is going to be."

"Let's do this then," Annabel said as she carefully raised her arms. Callen lifted the shirt up and off gently, being carefully not to catch her shoulder with it. He threw it on the towel and his arms went back around her before she could step away. He pulled close against him.

"Or I could just steal Sam's keys and drive us back to the apartment," he suggested softly so no one else heard.

"You could try except that I have all the keys," Hetty's voice drifted over to them.

Callen turned to look at Hetty, somewhat surprised. How on earth had she managed to hear that? His words had been whispered right next to Annabel's ear, on the side away from Hetty. Rebecca was looking over at them two with a soft smile on her face.

"So how much more punishment am I in for, Hetty? And what exactly are you punishing me for?"

Callen figured it wouldn't hurt to know, just in case it wasn't what he thought. Which admittedly, given the escapades of the last two weeks, plus Keelson and the car crash before this trip had started, there was a bit there that she could work with.

"Is there anything you need to be punished for?" Hetty asked innocently.

Annabel laughed.

"Hey!" Callen exclaimed. Her laughter continued at the look on his face though it was quiet. He couldn't help but smile at the happiness he saw on her face.

"G," Hetty said, regaining his attention, "I am only trying to make sure you understand that there are people in your life that are worth taking precautions for, to make sure you don't run off on your own again."

"And how exactly does a bikini fit into that?" Callen asked before he thought it through, which caused Annabel to attempt to muffle another laugh.

"A visual cue which I am sure I can find a way to repeat often, should I feel that you haven't learnt your lesson," Hetty responded, not even bothering to hide the smile of satisfaction on her face at what she saw between the two of them. "Now go enjoy the water."

Callen shook his head at Hetty. "I don't need to be reminded, Hetty. I do know that."

"Good. So go, enjoy." The look in Hetty's eyes suggested she wasn't actually referring to the water this time but his punishment.

Callen slipped his arm around Annabel, keeping her on his left side so that he was between her and Grey, and they walked down to the water. He steered them slightly away from the volatility of the Frisbee match that was in full swing and they moved together to a calm empty spot. He pulled her back against him, his arms gently around her waist and felt her relax into him.

With her in his arms, his family frolicking in the water nearby, the laughter and teasing sound of their voices floating across the gentle waves to him, and his mother and Hetty sitting on the beach watching over them, he was happy. Happier than he'd been in as long as he could remember. For years he hadn't had a home.

Now he was home. In more ways than one.

Home in LA, home with family, home with his team who was definitely part of his family. And home with Annabel.

He was happy. He was home. He felt whole.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

_A/N Take 2 -So, firstly this is not the end of this story - at least it's not where I intend on finishing it._

_However, I do realise that there are some readers out there who were more interested in the action/drama/mystery of this story and possibly not that interested in the relationship aspect and little story lines around that. So for those of you who feel that way, I just wanted to say that this ending is for you. It wraps things up, in general and gives you the opportunity to stop reading before all the relationship fluff takes over. I would love it if everyone wanted to keep going but realistically I know that not everyone likes the romance aspect of stories and I wouldn't want to spoil a good story by not warning you what was coming and giving you the chance to end it on a high note._

_For those of you who want to know, there is plenty more to come, roughly around ten chapters, unless anyone requests anything that I haven't already covered - please feel free to let me know if there is anything you want to see. I'm more than willing to give it a shot and see if the plot bunnies co-operate._

_The rest is fluffy/romantic/emotional/maybe a little angsty in particular for one of the characters. I've been living with these characters and this world for well over nine months now and feel that they have become family in an odd way! So I want to know what happens in the relationships, both romantic and friendship ones. _

_Thank you once again for the awesome support and encouragement. I certainly never expected that this story would end up being so long, intricate, twisted or reviewed! _

_Next chapter should be up early next week. Have a great weekend everyone._


	61. Chapter 61

_A/N - Thanks for the support. Flutterbird - I do hope I managed to capture the character of Gibbs post chapter 11 and that you are still enjoying the story. _

_Almost finished writing this now so updates should be a little quicker. Aiming for a Mon/Wed/Fri schedule at least. Enjoy.  
_

_Disclaimer in chapter 1_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o  
_

**Chapter 61**

Just after lunch the next day Callen and Annabel stood near the gate at the airport, waiting for the announcement that would have Annabel leave him, get on a plane and fly home. Callen had his arms wrapped around her; she was resting her head on his shoulder and holding onto him. It wasn't a tight hold, but he could tell she didn't want to let go. Grey was sitting relaxed on a chair a little away from them, giving them some last few moments of privacy.

Grey was taking Annabel home. They were going to fly via Cincinnati first, to see John, who had yet to be moved to LA.

The announcement for boarding came over the loudspeaker and Annabel finally lifted her head and looked at him. Callen dropped his head down and kissed her, softly and gently.

"I'll see you soon," he promised.

"Soon," she whispered as she held him tight once more.

"I love you," Callen said. It still surprised him that he had found someone again that he could say that to; that he could say it to so easily and mean it.

Grey stepped over to them and Callen released Annabel a little so they could turn to face Grey. She made no move to step away from him.

"I'll take care of her Callen, don't worry about that." Grey smiled at them both as he reached down and picked up Annabel's bag that was at their feet. Grey nodded at Callen and moved to join the queue and wait for Annabel.

"I love you too." Annabel put her head back down on his shoulder, tightened her arms a bit more. She took a slow deep breath. She wasn't sure she was ready for this. There was a part of her that was scared that when she left, this would all end up being a dream. Then there was the other part that was worried that perhaps Callen was the reason she wasn't having the nightmares and what if they came back.

Callen tilted her head up to look at him. "Just remember us. You'll be fine."

Annabel smiled, amazed that in such a short period of time he could know her so well. "How could I forget?" She kissed him tenderly and then pulled back. "Bye G."

Callen smiled. He was most definitely fond of his name on her lips. They hadn't quite gotten around to testing out the other one, but he wasn't worried. There would be plenty of time for that. In the meantime, it felt good to have her call him by his name, not his last name. He pulled her in for one last hug and kiss and then they walked over to Grey.

"Bye Callen," Grey said as he slipped his arm around Annabel shoulders.

"See you both soon."

Callen turned and walked away. He didn't want to make it harder on either of them so he moved quickly, before he could turn back and ask her to wait for the next plane so he could be on it with her. He had some things he needed to do and then he would go to her. He'd give her some time with her parents. He'd spend some time with his new family, then he'd find her and they'd go on from there, together somehow, to whatever was ahead for them.

Callen made his way straight to the hospital from the airport. He was going to see Mary. She had been moved up to the hospital in LA yesterday but, as yet, she still hadn't woken up from the coma. The doctors said that was to be expected after the kind of trauma her body had been through. They were hoping that she would wake up in the next day or two. Then they would be able to assess the full impact of what had happened and any side effects.

Rebecca and Grace were both in the room with Mary when he arrived. Grace looked up and smiled at him easily. Rebecca was still a little tentative around him, like she wasn't quite sure what to do or how to make up for everything. They'd spent a little time together yesterday, though Callen's main focus had been Annabel. Now she was on her way to her family, it was time for him to sort out his, at least this section of it. Grace was sitting next to Mary, holding her hand, so Callen made his way over to Rebecca, pulling a chair close before sitting down.

"How is she?" Callen asked.

"Better," Rebecca said with a relieved smile. "Vitals are stronger; she seems to be recovering well. She's still classified as critical but the doctors are quite pleased with her progress."

"She's a fighter. Is that in the genes too?" Callen asked.

Rebecca looked at him. "Yeah, I guess you could say it is. Your father got into some scrapes we were sure he wouldn't come out of but he did. Just like you did last year."

"What other family traits should I be on the lookout for?" Callen asked with a grin. He saw her reaction and frowned. Her breath had caught and her eyes widened and he was sure he witnessed a brief flash of pain. She shook her head as if to stop herself slipping away to a memory.

"Well, there is another one. You look so much like him, especially just now." Callen saw the tears gather in her eyes and one slipped down her cheek. She brushed it away quickly. "I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't be. I'm sorry if it hurts you that I look like him." He didn't want to hurt her, but he couldn't do anything about the way he looked.

Rebecca shook her head. "It doesn't, not that you look like him. I always loved that I had a little Caleb as well. It's just … For so many years, I've just had to push everything else aside, focus on protecting you all. I didn't even have time to grieve properly, I never really found a time to let it happen later. Now, I guess it's all just a little hard to comprehend that I can think about it, that we're safe, at least from Peter and Richard."

"I'll keep you safe. It's not your job anymore," Callen assured her. He was old enough and more than competent enough to do that for her. To repay her for what she had given up to protect them from Peter.

"Mum!" Grace's excited voice came from the bed and Callen and Rebecca quickly stood up, automatically taking a couple of steps closer to the bed before Callen stopped.

"Grace? You were supposed –"

"Mum, it's okay," Grace assured her quickly. "Grandma's here. We're safe." Grace stepped back, ushering Rebecca closer.

"Mum?" Mary's voice sounded just a little stronger.

Callen felt a certain amount of relief upon hearing that strength in her voice. He knew what a milestone the smallest improvement was from injuries such as hers.

"Mary, Grace is right. We're safe. Peter is gone. So is Richard." Rebecca took her hand and held it gently.

"We're safe? We don't have to run anymore?" Mary asked softly.

"No," Rebecca assured her. "No more running."

"Owen," Mary whispered, pain clear in her voice. "Why did he …"

Rebecca squeezed Mary's hand. "I don't know why. I'm so sorry, my darling."

Callen was close enough that he could see the tear that escaped Mary's eyes. He wanted to step closer, to comfort her, but he felt this was a moment for Rebecca and Grace so he stayed back, where he could see her but far enough that he wasn't a distraction. There sounded like there would be plenty of time for him to meet Mary and play big brother.

"There's someone here to meet you, if you are up for it," Rebecca said, obviously not feeling the same about this time as Callen did.

"Who?" Mary asked.

"G."

"He's here? He's safe too?" Mary's tone was surprised.

"Yes." Rebecca turned to him and encouraged him to come closer.

Callen stepped forward and looked down at Mary.

"Hi," he said, not entirely sure what else to say.

"Hi … big brother," Mary said with a small smile. He could tell she was fading, but even with that, the smile reached her eyes; familiar eyes, and he felt a little tug on his heart. She was going to be all right and he had a sister. It was like until that moment he didn't want to believe it, just in case he lost her. Now he had two. A big one he hoped that in time he could get to know through his memories and his mother, and a little one he could personally get to know.

Before Callen could respond, Mary continued. "He looks better than in the pictures." With that her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep, the beeping of the monitors reassuring Callen that she was just sleeping.

"You showed her pictures?" Callen asked Rebecca when he finally turned away from her.

Rebecca nodded. "I needed her to know what you looked like, to make sure they didn't cross your path, in case Peter was watching."

"Grace didn't know who I was. Didn't you show her?"

Grace answered his question before Rebecca could. "No, apparently I'm too curious for my own good. They thought I'd actually go looking for you." Grace smiled at Rebecca before turning her gaze back to Callen. "They were probably right. But I have seen a couple of my grandfather. I thought you looked familiar in the hospital but couldn't place why." Grace shrugged at that. "Guess I wouldn't make a good agent after all."

Callen grinned. "I don't know about that. You did pretty good out there, and apparently some of our talents are in the genes and from the best."

"Don't encourage her!" Rebecca protested quietly but firmly. "Let her become the teacher she's been studying to be."

Callen raised an eyebrow. "Teacher?" He hadn't really thought about what Grace might do, but a teacher probably wouldn't have crossed his mind if he had. "Guess you'll do fine if you get a rowdy bunch of students." He turned to Rebecca. "Was it you who trained her? She's got quite a grip, look and ability with a gun."

Callen remembered how confident Rebecca had been with the gun when she had found them at Peter's.

Rebecca smiled. "John and I, as well as Owen. Between the three of us we covered most things with her. Had to make sure she could handle herself if we had to run and she got separated. Or if they found us first."

"At least you don't have to worry about that now," Callen assured them both. "Did you do her I.D? The FBI one?"

Rebecca nodded. "It was a just in case one. To give her one chance to find out information that could mean the difference between her being found or not. "

Given her ability with a gun, her expertise with fake ID's, Callen felt like Rebecca certainly hadn't let anything slip. Though that probably out of the necessity for survival.

At that point in the conversation, the door opened and Callen turned quickly, perhaps still a little on edge about the safety of his family. Hetty walked through, a calmness and confidence that Callen hadn't seen for a while coming off her. Callen felt a small amount of tension leave him that he hadn't even realised had been there. It seemed like Annabel wasn't the only one who needed a little more reassurance that this was over.

"Checking up on me, Hetty?" he asked lightly.

"No, Mr – G. I'm on my way to the airport with Agent Gibbs. He wished to speak to you before he left. He is waiting outside."

Callen smiled a little at the stumble. Hetty was still having the occasional spot of trouble slipping out of the professional role. She was trying hard to continue to show him that he was more than just a work colleague. He appreciated her efforts.

Callen stepped out of the room and walked over to where Gibbs was waiting.

"Jethro. Hear you are on your way home."

Gibbs nodded. "Yep. Now you're out of danger, I _think _it's safe for me to go. Is Mary going to be all right?" he asked.

"Pretty sure. She's doing better than expected."

"Things with Rebecca? How are they doing?"

Callen grinned a little. Gibbs was certainly cutting to the chase and asking what he wanted to know straight out. But then Gibbs had never really been one for small talk.

"The same, better than I thought. She was the one who gave you the tip one where I was in Russia," Callen replied. There was a small amount of shock on Gibbs' face, but it settled quickly into acceptance.

"Somehow, after everything that has happened," Gibbs said, "now that I think about it, it doesn't surprise me all that much. So looks like your family is almost complete."

"Almost?" Callen queried. He had his mother, sister, niece, not to mention the rest of his surrogate family. He was pretty sure it was complete.

"Wife, kids. That's about all that's left to go isn't it?" Gibbs asked, holding back a grin.

Callen looked at Gibbs. The obvious astonishment on his face made clear to him by the grin the came out on Gibbs' face.

"Why Jethro, are you about to go and quote the virtues and joys of marriage to me? Encourage me even?"

It wasn't like the thought hadn't crossed his mind regarding Annabel. Even with the short time frame of their relationship. It would be natural progression of a relationship he wanted to last. But the suggestion coming from Gibbs, with his multiple failed marriages, was a little odd and unexpected.

"Callen, with the right girl, it can be perfect." Callen knew he was thinking about Shannon. "So, do you have the right girl yet?"

Callen shook his head slightly at Gibbs. Not to say that he didn't have the right girl, just at his disbelief at direction of the conversation.

"What do you think?" Callen asked, only half teasing. Gibbs was important to him; his opinion did count, even if it wouldn't necessarily change his actions.

"I think only you can tell if she's the right girl but, if you want my opinion of Annabel, I'd say you'd found a pretty great one. She seems like she could handle you," Gibbs replied in a cheeky tone, well at least as cheeky as he could get. Then he went all serious on Callen. "She's been through a lot too. You both have in your lives. But she's managed to come out the other side and still be strong. I think if anyone could handle the baggage that each of you is carrying, it's the other."

"More than you could know," Callen replied, regarding how much Annabel had been through. He hadn't had a chance to talk with Gibbs in private since this had finished. Gibbs frowned and Callen knew he wouldn't be able to leave it there. The older man was curious.

"Peter, he was the one who…" Callen trailed off, not entirely sure it was his place to tell Gibbs any of this. Sam knew, Kensi and Hetty knew. It wasn't like he didn't have anyone to talk to about this, but Gibbs … Gibbs was different. He was the closest thing he had to a father, even though he wasn't that much older, he'd been a steadying influence and advisor over the years. Plus, it wasn't like Gibbs didn't already know most of it. Callen took a breath and decided to confide in him, returning the trust that Gibbs had showed when he'd eventually confided in him about Shannon and Kelly.

"Peter tortured her," Callen said. "About seven years ago. It was when they first met Hetty. Peter had Hetty too. Even though I don't know what he did to Hetty, I know what he did to Annabel." Gibbs must have seen or heard the pain in Callen's voice or face, because he reached out and placed a hand on Callen's shoulder in comfort.

"I've seen what little information they pulled on Peter, from when he was involved with the Twelve, and what they've discovered since," Gibbs said. "He sounds pretty bad."

"He was. God, Jethro, what he did to her. It's so hard to imagine, but then she had to find out that not only was he behind all of this as well as what happened to her back then, but he was the reason Zoe died. I wish…" Callen's fist clenched as the anger washed over him again. "I wish it had been me who killed him. I wanted it to be me; I wanted to destroy him for what he had done to her."

In a way, he guessed he wanted to be the one to save her. Not that it mattered who did it, but she'd given so much to protect him, and he considered her his to protect by then.

"He's gone. That's the main thing."

Callen nodded his agreement and forced his hands to relax. The anger had nowhere to go now. He needed to let it go.

Hetty walked out the door at that moment. "Agent Gibbs, it is time for us to go now."

Gibbs nodded and looked at Callen. "We'll talk more next time. Just think about what I said. Don't want you to let her slip through your fingers."

They shook hands and Gibbs and Hetty left.

Callen stepped back into the room with Mary, just as Grace slipped out to get some coffee. He went and sat down next to Rebecca.

"I know this is going to take some time to get used to," Callen started, "being back together. But please, know that you don't have anything to make up for. You did what you thought was best, you protected us. Now it's just time to live."

"No more running or hiding," Rebecca agreed.

"No. Just live. Be happy … Stay," Callen said, that final word sounding very much like a plea.

"Now I've got you back, I'm not going anywhere," Rebecca added. "I've missed out on far too much."

Callen could hear the sincerity in her voice and the promise in her words.

"We both have," Callen agreed. "It's time to enjoy the rest of our lives."


	62. Chapter 62

_A/N - This is for those of you who have asked for Callen/Mary. I hope you enjoy. Not sure if it was what you were thinking but it's what the plot bunnies ran with._

_Thanks for all the reviews, anonymous and otherwise.  
_

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~o_

**Chapter 62**

Callen was sitting by Mary's bedside. She had been drifting in and out over the last couple of days, seeming stronger each time, though easily tiring. This was the first time Callen spent here on his own.

Hetty had ushered both Rebecca and Grace out ten minutes ago. Callen knew Hetty saw the same thing he did. The dark circles under their eyes and the tiredness in them. Even though the danger had passed, both of them had refused to leave Mary's side since she had transferred to LA for anything more than food or bathroom breaks. Callen had tried to convince them that he would be here to watch over Mary, but it hadn't worked. So, he had called in Hetty to see what she could do. It had worked and so for the first time, he was alone with his sister. She was asleep and probably didn't know it but for him, this was a big moment. And he had no idea what he would say to her when she woke up.

A noise came from the bed, a muted cry, and Callen looked up quickly to see Mary's blue eyes looking at him filled with tears. He lent closer and took her hand, instinct guiding him.

Some tears fell but Mary gripped his hand tight and smiled a little.

"Hi," Callen said.

"Hi," came the soft reply and he could hear the pain in her voice.

"Where do you hurt?" he asked quickly as he reached for the call button.

Mary shook her head and he stopped.

"It's not like that," she said. Mary looked at him intently for a moment. "Do you … Do you know what happened to Owen?" she asked.

Callen contemplated how to answer that. He wasn't really sure what she wanted to know. "What do you mean?" he asked, rather than give her an answer she wasn't looking for.

"It's blurry. I think I know what happened, in the abstract. But I'm having dreams," she added, her voice unsteady but determined.

Dreams? Callen doubted they were dreams. He held her hand a little tighter and waited for her to continue.

"I need to know G. Please," she begged.

"What do you want to know?"

"Did he …" Mary took a deep breath, a grimace of pain flashing across her face as the action obviously pulled on her wounds. "I need to know if he suffered. I keep seeing these different scenarios. I need to know how he died."

Callen had read the coroner's report. He knew the conclusions that had been formed regarding Owen's shooting and death.

"You don't know what actually happened to him?" Callen asked.

Mary shook her head. "No, not at that point. I didn't see it. I was mostly out of it by then. I heard the shots and I know he didn't make it because he didn't come to me, or call out to me. I asked Mum, but she won't tell me. I'm sure she thinks I'm not ready and since I won't tell her about the dreams, she doesn't know why I need to know.

"Why haven't you told her?" Callen asked curiously.

Mary gave him a small smile. "She tried to protect me from hers but I knew. I don't want to remind her of when it happened to her. I don't want her nightmares to come back. She's just got her life and you back, G. I don't want to make this any worse for her. She's happier than I've ever seen her."

Callen nodded. He understood.

"Then tell me what you remember and I'll do what I can to fill in the blanks," Callen promised her.

Mary took a couple of slow, calming breaths before she started.

"I remember them bursting into the house. Someone grabbed me and there were two who grabbed Owen. They wanted to know where you were. Neither of us would tell. We didn't actually know, so we were denying we even knew what they were talking about. They hit Owen … hard when he fought back."

Mary swallowed to dislodge the lump in her throat before she could continue.

"One of them came up to me, hit me. Told me if we didn't tell, Grace was next on the list. That really riled up Owen and me. We both fought back … or tried. Then I felt this awful pain in my stomach and I was thrown back on the floor."

Callen squeezed her hand. "The first shot."

Mary nodded.

"What happened next?" As much as he didn't want to know, Callen knew this would help her. He also knew that this was an important moment between the two of them. She was trusting him with her horror, asking for his help and it meant so much to him that she felt that she could.

"Umm, I heard Owen scream out for me, but I couldn't focus. Everything started going blurry around the edges and it hurt so much I couldn't move. Then I heard three or four gunshots, at least I think did."

Mary's breath was ragged by the stage and she took a few moments to try and control it.

"Then the main guy was standing over me, pointing his gun at me. He smirked and bent down, whispered 'Richard says hello. He's been looking for you for so long. All of you'." Her voice was barely a whisper as she said this.

Mary's free hand made its way to her chest. "Then he pulled the trigger and it hurt so much more than before."

Mary looked at him with those matching eyes of hers, the tears falling freely. "Please," she begged of him, "Please tell me he didn't suffer. I can't remember how long was between those shots. In my dreams sometimes it's hours, but I remember vaguely thinking it was so quick at the time."

"It's okay. I can help," Callen reassured her, fighting back tears himself at the pain he could her in her voice that had nothing to do with the two bullets that they had buried in her.

Mary closed her eyes and Callen waited until she opened them.

"How much detail do you want?" Callen asked gently.

"Whatever you have."

Callen nodded. "The coroner's report says the first bullet lodged in his thigh. The second one grazed his skull," he explained. "It was the third one that killed him. Right between his eyes."

A painful sob broke through from Mary and he moved closer to her and whispered in her ear reassuringly. "He wouldn't have suffered much. They also said the time between the first bullet in his leg and the one that killed him, was minimal, maybe less than a minute."

Mary started to cry silently and Callen gently kissed her heads he held her as best he could. "I'm sorry Mary. I wish had the chance to meet him. I think I would have liked him."

"He loved Grace so much," Mary said quietly. "Like she was his own even though she wasn't."

Callen smiled at her. "She's a hard girl not to like."

Something mixed between a sob and a laugh came next from Mary. "Most of the time. She has her moments."

Callen sat back in his chair though he didn't let go of her hand.

"Tell me about her. What was she like as a little girl?" Callen asked in an attempt to divert the conversation off Owen.

"Pretty much like she is now. Loyal, fun, impetuous, determined. There' s not much that she can't do when she puts her mind to it. She certainly knew about pushing boundaries and limits."

Callen grinned at the thought of a little Grace. "Guess she was a handful."

Mary nodded. "Worth it though. Worth everything I did for her." She smiled at him. "I guess that's just what most parents feel. That their kids are worth so much."

"Some parents have to sacrifice more than others. Some aren't willing to do it all," Callen said, a hint of pain in his voice he wasn't expecting.

Mary frowned. "I'm sorry you didn't have a good time growing up. I know you were happy when you were all together. Mum told me how much you used to love to laugh. How you used to play little jokes on her, creep up on her and surprise her."

Callen smiled at the one memory he had of his parents as it covered all those things. "I remember being happy. But I don't have a lot."

Mary smiled softly. "Would you like me to tell you one of the stories she told me?"

Callen's eyes must have lit up and Mary's smile got bigger. "I'll take that as a yes," she added.

"So what do you know?" Callen asked, eagerness in his voice.

Mary though for a moment. "You were two. You and Amy were building with some blocks. Amy went to the bathroom and when she came back, you weren't there. She looked everywhere for you …"

"I was on top of the bookcase." Callen was in awe. He remembered this. It was there, not a conscious flashback or anything but the memory, it was there.

"You remember?" Mary asked.

Callen nodded. "Now I do. We were building a tall tower for some toys," he said. The memory starting to clear up in his mind so that he could see it as he spoke. "I wanted to figure out how to climb it, so I used the chairs, the table and the bookcase shelves to get up there. It didn't take me long and I thought it was funny to watch Amy looking everywhere down on the ground for me. Mum came in and I couldn't stop the giggle. She looked up and saw me straight away. She wasn't mad. She smiled." Callen couldn't help the chuckle with what came next. "She made me come down myself. Told me if I could get up on my own, I could get down on my own. Took me a lot longer to get down but I did it. Then we had ice cream."

Mary laughed softly. "You were lucky that the bookcase was bolted to the wall."

Callen smiled. There was a definite increase in hope that he would remember more. The memories were there. He just needed to find the keys.

"Thank you," Callen added.

"Anytime." Mary smiled, though it was a sad one. "Thank you. For being here and for telling me what I needed to know."

Callen noticed that her eyes were starting to droop again. He lent over and kissed her cheek.

"Get some sleep," Callen said. "I'll be right here if you need me."

"Thanks," Mary whispered as her eyes again, this time not opening again.

Callen sat back in the chair and, even given that some of the conversation had mostly been difficult and painful, he smiled. He just has his first real conversation with his little sister. And … it had been a pretty good one at that.


	63. Chapter 63

_A/N - Just so you know, even though I have started posting another LA story (Mr and Mrs G Smith) it won't affect the updates for this one. I'm still on track for three updates a week for Compromised._

_Hope you enjoy this chapter - a little Callen and Kensi time. A note about Kensi - in this story her fiance died. I'm not sure what the deal is with Season 2 and her fiance and since I wrote him in a while ago, I just wanted to remind you what the situation was in this story for her._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O  
_

**Chapter 63**

It was just over week after Annabel had left, 7pm on Friday night, when Callen knocked on Kensi's door. She opened it and looked him over thoughtfully before she shook her head, just the slightest, and shrugged.

"You bring beer and pizza. What do you want, Callen?" Kensi asked, standing in the doorway as if she had no intention of letting him in.

Callen, on the other hand, knew that wasn't an option. He was coming in, whether she liked it or not. He would prefer an invite, but it wasn't essential.

"To eat, drink and be merry," he replied lightly.

Kensi shook her head. "Nope. You want to talk about Marcus." She stepped back and ushered him in.

Callen grinned to himself. He'd gotten his invite.

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

Kensi was right. He did want to talk about Marcus. He knew her time with him in London had affected her but, as yet, he hadn't had time to sit down and talk with her. The last thing Callen wanted was for Kensi to drift back into that tough shell. He wanted her to open up, like he had seen in the hotel that night. And considering he'd opened up more than anyone recently and Kensi had witnessed that change, he was the one who was here tonight, rather than Sam. Because both of them wanted to see Kensi happy and instinct was telling them that a guy who could manage to get Kensi to a third date and still have her wanting more, had to be a good thing.

Kensi rolled her eyes as if the answer was obvious. "Because in the last week and a half you haven't asked me a single question about him. The curiosity must be killing you and Sam."

Not killing exactly, but it was a little distracting. Which Callen had to admit was what he needed right now with Annabel being gone and the fact that he had been on restricted duties this week. Meaning paperwork and lots of it. He was sure this was part of Hetty's subtle punishment … or protection. Sometimes it was a fine line between the two where Hetty was concerned.

Callen moved toward the couch and Kensi closed the door behind him. He put the pizza and beer down on the coffee table and turned to face her. "We care about you, Kenz. You know that."

"I know." Then Kensi grinned at him. "Which is why I didn't close the door in your face. Take a seat."

Callen sat down on the couch and waited for her to join him.

"So?" he prompted after Kensi had handed him a plate and put some napkins down next to the pizza boxes.

"So?" Kensi repeated.

"Marcus."

Kensi retrieved a slice of the BBQ meat pizza from one of the boxes.

"Tell me what's going on with Annabel and I'll tell you what's going on with Marcus," Kensi countered before taking a bite.

"Annabel's in Ireland." Callen answered simply. He wasn't here to talk about Annabel. He was here to forget that she wasn't here and focus on his friend – his other sister in essence – and what she was going through, to make sure she was okay with all these changes. He felt slightly guilty that he had been fairly focused on his new family for the last week and hadn't made the time before now for this chat.

"Callen." Kensi rolled her eyes and twisted around on the couch to look at him better. "Come on. I know she is in Ireland. That's not what I was asking."

"You know what's going on."

"No," Kensi said. "I know what I see. What is going on in your mind could be entirely different. So, tell me. Please," she added sincerely.

"What do you see, Kenz?"

"Oh no," she replied with a shake of her head and her finger. "You are not going to do that to me. I want to hear the words from your lips, not a repeat of what I tell you."

Callen grinned. "Well, to state the obvious, I'm in love with her. It's even stronger than it was the first time." He waited for the shock on Kensi's face at the revelation he'd been there before. There wasn't much but he did see the raised eyebrows. Kensi didn't ask anything more. Just waited. She knew him pretty well. Before Annabel he wouldn't have talked anymore if she'd prompted, because he rarely spoke about personal stuff. Now though, he probably would.

"A long time ago there was this girl. I was FBI at the time, so was she. We were team mates. She died in a car crash after we'd been together for three years."

He saw the flash of pain in Kensi's eyes and wondered if she was remembering her fiancé.

"I'm sorry. Is she the reason for the no cops rule?" Kensi asked gently.

Callen shook his head. "Not exactly. It was just one of Gibbs' rules that I picked up on before that. Didn't stop me in the end with Jennifer but, after she died, it was easier to follow it. It hurt less if I didn't consider that option with anyone else and was a way to keep the pain tucked away. I never really wanted to find anyone after Jennifer. Annabel just … She slipped in. Like Jennifer did. It just happened. Hit me suddenly and there was nothing I could do about it, even if I wanted to."

"Do you wish she hadn't?" Kensi asked, her tone serious yet thoughtful.

Callen studied her for a moment before answering. It was Kensi's tone that gave her away. This wasn't just a conversation where they were getting to know each other. Kensi was trying to figure out something. He guessed it had to do with Marcus.

"No. Never. Not with Jennifer and not with Annabel. Kenz, are you worried about what might happen with Marcus? Do you think you love him?"

Kensi turned to the next pizza, avoiding looking at him as she reached for a slice of supreme pizza.

"Not onto me yet. Keep going with you and Annabel. What's going to happen now?"

"She's in Ireland, taking some time to recover. She needed to tell her parents what happened to Zoe; what really happened."

Callen frowned and he wondered how she was doing, even though he had spoken with Annabel earlier around lunch, before she had headed to bed. He knew the conversation with her parents had been hard for her, but it had gone well. Grey had stayed for it and the family had grieved together, properly this time, knowing exactly what it was that had taken Zoe from them. It had given them all a little better closure, though the first few days had been fairly emotional for them as they had come to terms with the truth. Annabel had said she was doing well, that her shoulder was healing and she was much more relaxed. She sounded it too, but he still wished he was there, to see for himself just how well she was doing.

"You're worried about her," Kensi concluded easily.

"She's been through so much and then having to face Peter again."

The team had been thoroughly debriefed and filled in on the complications and history about what had happened. It had been a difficult, yet enlightening experience. Hetty, Rebecca and Callen had gone over everything with the team, giving them the connections and reasons behind everything, answering any questions they had as best they could. Hetty felt it was for the best, given how complex the situation had been with everything. John had also been available to help explain things. He'd been moved to LA a couple of days after Annabel and Grey had left. Having an additional person who knew so much about The Twelve, being one of them, had helped as well. Hetty hadn't wanted anyone worrying about unknown details or fishing to find out more, just in case there was anyone else out there interested in the remaining members of The Twelve, so they had been open and honest. Hetty had even briefly told them what had happened to her. It was a totally different kind of torture to Annabel, a more traditional kind, though still traumatic.

"You were there though, with Annabel," Kensi reminded him, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah. I was." Callen smiled as a thought crossed him mind. "You know she's like you in a way."

Kensi's look turned confused and Callen grinned. "Talented, dedicated, fun, beautiful, but you're definitely a better driver."

Kensi rolled her eyes. "She's been doing this longer than me, Callen. She's more like you than me."

Kensi knew she was good at her job, one of the best. Hetty wouldn't have hired her if she wasn't, but she also knew she still had a lot to learn. After everything that had happened, and her sneak peak at the files on Annabel and Grey whilst in London, she also knew they were a cut above even that. Grey and Annabel were in Callen's league, something Kensi wasn't quite sure she could ever be.

"True, she's got a few years on you Kenz. She's had more practice and experience, been through a few more rough patches than you, but yeah. You've got the talent; you just need a little more time to refine it. You'll get there." He had no doubt she would and knew that he would do everything he could to make sure she did.

"Wow. That's some compliment." Coming from Callen that was huge, that he thought she had the potential to be as good as he was.

"Just do me a favour," Callen added seriously, "and keep your eye on that line. Don't cross it too much, not like she does. I don't want you to have that flaw."

"What do you mean?" Kensi asked.

"Annabel tends to throw herself into whatever it is she needs to do, or whatever she needs to protect, without thinking about the consequences for herself." Callen still remembered the plane and looking back, he knew that she had been more than willing to go down with it, if necessary, to keep him safe. He shook off the thoughts and continued. "I guess you could say that she feels like the mission is more important than she is. Just remember that you are important, Kenz. We don't want to lose you because you don't watch that line. It's one thing to do everything you can to protect someone, another thing entirely to not watch out for yourself at the same time."

"Do you think now that you two are together, maybe she'll take more notice?" Kensi asked.

"I'm hoping she'll quit," Callen admitted. It was the first time he'd said it out loud. He wasn't sure yet whether he would say anything to Annabel or not. He didn't really think it would be fair to ask her to quit whilst he kept himself in potentially the same kind of situation. "I don't want to watch her go through anything like that again."

"You want her to quit? You turning all protective boyfriend on her?" Kensi teased a little with a grin.

"Maybe," Callen agreed with a soft chuckle. "She got hurt enough protecting me. I hate seeing her like that. I just want to look after her. Strange huh?"

Kensi smiled. "Maybe, but it's nice to see. I mean, you care about the team, but until recently it's just seemed professional, a close team kind of thing but now ... Things changed these last couple of weeks didn't they?"

They definitely had and there were still more to come. He'd spoken with Hetty about what possibilities there were for him to step back a little and she was looking into all the options.

"For all of us," Callen agreed. "So, what about Marcus?" he asked as he reached for another slice of pizza, now his side of the conversation was done.

Kensi stood up and started pacing. Kensi rarely paced so he knew this was definitely big, as he and Sam had suspected.

"I don't know. I feel something but… Dammit he makes me feel like a girl and I'm not sure I like that."

"Kensi, you are a girl."

Kensi spun around about to say something but stopped. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Callen, he … I feel all girly around him. Like I want him to protect me, to open doors, look after me, flowers, chocolates and all that traditional kind of mushy stuff. And that's just not me."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "You've spent most of your life taking care of yourself, maybe it's about time you let someone else take care of you."

Kensi ran her hands through her hair and then looked at him. Callen could see the confusion in her eyes. "You, Sam and Hetty, you take care of me."

"Not often. Only when we push or you are in really bad shape. And I'm pretty sure that Marcus isn't interested in taking care of you only when you're injured."

"So what does he want?" Kensi asked, desperation to know the answer evident in her tone. "Because if it was just sex he could have already had that."

Callen raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean you two haven't?"

"No we haven't," Kensi admitted, her voice losing that desperation. "Not saying we didn't want to but living with Sam and Eric is like a cold shower on the idea of taking him home after the dates."

"Hotel," Callen suggested. They'd been in London, not like they didn't have plenty of choices and money certainly wouldn't have been a problem for Marcus.

"Callen," Kensi groaned and he noticed a slight pink in her cheeks. Another sign things were definitely different with Marcus to any other guy.

"What is it, Kensi? Do you think he's not interested in you? You think he's just playing a game?" Callen asked seriously. He didn't think Marcus was that kind of guy, at least he better not be.

"No," Kensi denied strongly. She plopped down on the chair across from him and her voice softened. "No. He's not playing a game. I'm just terrified of what being with him means."

"Which is?"

"Someone who could hurt me, someone I could hurt," Kensi admitted quietly. "Having someone I can actually depend on, outside of the team. I'm not used to that. What if I mess up?"

She was seriously worried about this. Callen narrowly held back a smile of satisfaction that Kensi had found someone she actually wanted to make a relationship work with. Someone she had some belief in.

"I think Marcus has a little experience dealing with traumatised females," he teased, just to lighten the mood a little.

Kensi reacted quickly and punched him. Callen managed to hold onto the slice of pizza he had in his hand and grinned at her. She rolled her eyes and dropped her head back against the couch, but he saw the smile she tried to hide before she did.

"I don't do second dates," Kensi said, though there wasn't quite the same conviction in her words as usual. "There are times when I'm still not entirely sure what is going on or how I am at date number four."

"How did you?" Callen asked. He and Sam had been wondering about this since they'd landed that day and she'd admitted that she'd already been on three dates.

"He classified the birthday party as number one, so by the time we finished what I thought was the first date, apparently we'd already been on two." Kensi didn't expand on the details regarding how Marcus came to the conclusion about the first date. Though her lips did twitch in a smile as she remembered his list.

"What else?"

Kensi swallowed a little nervously. Callen was way too perceptive. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Seriously Kenz, there's no way you would've given in that easily. Just because some guy said you'd already done number two so number three should be a breeze."

"Fine, he wouldn't kiss me until I agreed."

Callen raised his eyebrows. He was sure that she was making it a little simpler than it really was. "And you really wanted to kiss him?"

"Yes."

Kensi's eyes darted away from his gaze and Callen knew there was more. What he wasn't sure of was whether Kensi was ready to face what that more might be just yet so he didn't continue probing. She'd get there, possibly with this conversation, but she needed to find her own way and not have him throw the idea out there that she had already been falling for him by then.

There was silence for a moment before Kensi spoke, her tone soft and unsure, almost nervous.

"How do I know this is more?" she asked. "More than just a physical thing? I'm attracted to him, but then I have felt that before. It's nothing out of the ordinary for me to find a guy attractive."

Callen lent forward and looked at her, waiting for her to look back at him. When she did he said, "You already know it's different."

"Maybe that's just because he's holding back," she said.

Callen shook his head. She was grasping at straws because she was nervous about the possibility of where this relationship with Marcus could go. He could see that easily in her eyes.

"Or maybe it's because you think he can be more than a one night stand," Callen corrected gently.

Kensi jumped up and the pacing resumed. Callen patiently waited for her to be ready to talk and after a couple of times across the room and back, she turned and looked at him.

"He's different. Hell, Callen. You saw him with Annabel. The way he was that night in the pub. He was there for her, he didn't run. How many guys out there wouldn't run from that? It was terrifying yet he stayed. He helped. He was there for her. He completely ignored me even though we were on date number three."

So that was date three.

"And you know what?" Kensi continued. "I was jealous, but not that he was ignoring me. I was jealous that she had someone so devoted to her like that … and I didn't."

Callen stood up and stepped over to her. "But you do, Kenz," he said, doing his best to make sure she could see in his expression that he was being completely honest. "We're here for you. We won't run."

Kensi smiled at him and nodded. "I know. It was just a brief moment of insanity. I know you guys are there for me. But I … I want someone like that for me." She took a moment and thought about it, realised she wasn't quite being truthful so she corrected her own statement. "Someone like _you_ are to her. Not just a friend, no matter how like family that friend is. Not just family either. Someone who is there for me, by choice, because he loves me and will do anything he can for me, no matter how horrifying things get. And that terrifies me, Callen. Because I'm not that kind of girl."

Callen knew that admission of being scared was a big thing for Kensi. He didn't need to see the shine of tears in her eyes to know it. He took her hand and guided her back to the couch. They both sat down before he started.

"Kenz, you don't know what kind of girl you really are. Between your childhood, this job, losing your fiancé and the only one date thing you've closed yourself off and you don't give yourself a chance to find out what you would be like in another relationship."

The look on Kensi's face pretty much told him he had hit the nail right on the head. So he pushed on.

"Marcus is a great guy. I've seen that with the way he is with Annabel, what he has done for her, been willing to do for her and how long he has been there for her. I can tell that from the little you've told me so far about your dates. He is a lot stronger, determined and capable than your average guy. He's been through so much with Annabel and it's helped him become someone who can be there for you. Don't run from it, Kenz," he begged her. "You deserve someone like that."

"How do I know? How will I know if it's more than just … more than just sex? You and Annabel, how do you know?" Kensi's question wasn't much more than a whisper but Callen could hear how important it was to her. He could also hear the fear in her voice so he tried to ease that out of her a little before getting back to the serious side of things.

"Are you asking about the relationship or the sex?" Callen asked in a slightly mischievous tone.

"Both," Kensi admitted seriously. "Callen, I don't know what to look for anymore in a long term relationship. I don't even know how to tell if it's different. It's been so long since it's been more than a night out for fun or some stress relieving sex." She looked away, like she wasn't sure she should be asking him these questions.

"Kenz," Callen said and waited for her to look back. "It's already different. We wouldn't be having this conversation if it wasn't."

"What if the sex is just the same? What if one night together and it's all over? Is it going to be any different than some guy I meet in a bar?"

Callen could see she was really worried about that possibility. He could tell she didn't want to hurt Marcus, or get hurt herself, but she didn't know where this was going. It was so different from the way her relationships had been going since her fiancé died. Everything, outside of the team dynamic, had been physically focused since then.

Callen took a breath and started a conversation he really never expected to have with Kensi. Sam maybe, but not Kensi. But she needed this and he would be there for her, just as he had assured her before. He wouldn't run. He would do what he could to help.

"It's more about her than me."

"What is?"

"Sex." He'd start there, because Callen had a feeling if they could get past that part, the relationship part would come a lot easier. "It's different," Callen continued. "It's more than what I get out of it. It's not just about that release for me. It's what I can give her. That's the difference."

Kensi looked at him confused so Callen kept going.

"Seeing her respond, watching her let go of everything else and enjoy what we are doing. Having her trust me so much that she lets down all of her walls and lets me in, to the real her. You can imagine how hard that must be to completely let go considering our line of work and how often we spend looking over our shoulder wondering which enemy we've pissed off might be hiding in the shadows. But that's what she does. She feels that safe with me, that she lets go of all her concerns and fears."

Callen was mostly remembering that night after the run in with Daniel, but he knew that it happened every time they were together. She would forget everything except for him. He could see it in her eyes, in her reaction to him and his touch.

"I get more out of it even though the focus is on her. It's better, a lot better than some random stranger from a bar," Callen finished.

"Is it the same with her? Is it about you with her?"

"I don't know. I've never asked, but when she focuses on me, it's very had to think about anything else. She gives as much to me as I do to her. It's not selfish Kenz. It's giving and letting the other person give as well."

Callen wasn't sure he would ever stop looking over his shoulder or listening with a part of himself for some sound that didn't belong, but he knew with Annabel, he came close. He was still tuned in, but it was in a very subconscious part of him and thoughts about possible enemies didn't manage to push through the sensations and feelings they created together. He hoped if there was any danger that it would then, but so far they'd been safe and it hadn't.

"So it's about both of you and you are both giving everything to the other," Kensi said thoughtfully

"Yep." At least I was able to explain that clear enough for her, Callen thought to himself.

"I don't know if I can do that," Kensi said softly.

"You won't know until you try and when it's the right person, sometimes it just happens."

Kensi still looked worried.

"Kenz, talk to Marcus," Callen encouraged. "He's easy to talk to. Let him know what you are worried about. He'll help."

"You sure he won't just say I'm too hard, too damaged, and go find someone else?"

Kensi was trying to joke the situation off and Callen knew that they needed to wrap the conversation up soon. There was only so much talking Kensi could handle before it all got too much.

Callen smiled. "Hetty seems to think that damaged goods are more valuable because of their unique qualities. He's not going to give up. Not unless you convince him you don't want him or care about him. So don't push him away."

Callen moved closer to Kensi and cupped her chin, turned her face to him. He could see the worry and he wasn't used to it. But it gave him hope that Kensi was still continuing to open up.

"You deserve to have someone love you. Someone to be yours, to be there for you. Let Marcus try. Give him a chance to be that for you. You deserve it, Kenz."

Kensi smiled again and Callen saw the worry slip a little from her eyes. He let out a silent sigh of relief that the conversation had gone well. He knew she was scared but that she also wanted to try.

"So are you and Sam going to be breathing down his neck, warning him off?" Kensi asked, turning the conversation to a more light-hearted topic which gave Callen the clear signal that it was time to move on.

Callen shrugged and reached for one of the beers that were sitting on the table. They hadn't even started on those at all. "Probably," he said. "He's already warned me about hurting Annabel. Could be nice to have a chance at payback."

"He warned you off Annabel?"

Callen shook his head. "Not off. Just that if I hurt her he'll hurt me."

"You think he could?" Kensi asked.

The last thing Callen ever wanted to do was hurt Annabel in any way, shape or form. Though he had a realistic enough view of the world to know that it was a possibility, even if he didn't mean it.

"I think if I ever hurt her … I'll let him."


	64. Chapter 64

_A/N- Glad everyone seemed to enjoy the Callen/Kensi heart to heart. Thanks for the reviews.  
_

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_On with the show...Hope you enjoy this one.  
_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o  
_

**Chapter 64**

"Earth to G."

Sam's voice pulled Callen's wandering attention back to the room.

"Come on, man. Just go to her. You want to."

"She needs time, Sam. I just want to give her that."

Sam rolled his eyes. "She's had two weeks, G. You were okay the first week, getting to know your mother and Grace and Mary, but this last week." Sam shook his head. "You've been zoning out a bit. Haven't you wondered why Hetty hasn't put you back out in the field yet?"

"Because I told her not to."

Sam raised his eyebrows. "You told her you didn't want to work?"

Between paperwork, the new family, concern about Kensi and, as Sam put it, zoning out, Callen really hadn't managed to talk to Sam that much recently about his own personal issues. He'd forgotten to tell him about his chat with Hetty about the changes he was hoping to make.

"Yeah, Sam. I still need to figure out how this is going to work. How I can do this job and not take so many risks."

Sam grinned and Callen rolled his eyes at how happy Sam looked with the news.

"So, you _do_ actually want to live these days," Sam replied, the grin still in place. "That's good to know. So, go. Honestly G, you're driving me a little crazy. You know she wants you to come."

"I know, I just –"

"Just what, Mr Callen?" Hetty interrupted from behind him. Callen spun in his chair.

"What happened to calling me G?" he asked avoiding the question.

"We are in the office. It is far too ingrained on these premises."

"Fair enough." He'd give her that since she had made such an effort in other areas.

"Why are you still here, Mr Callen?" Hetty asked. "When did you last speak to Annabel?"

"This morning." He'd called her when he woke up this morning. He was really starting to hate time zone differences and having to think before he called her.

"And?" Hetty prompted.

"And what?" Callen asked.

"Does she miss you?" Sam asked.

"Yes."

"Do you miss her?" Hetty continued.

"Yes." As if she had to ask. They all knew he did.

"Did she tell you not to come?" Sam asked.

Callen turned to Sam and somehow knew he was going to lose this conversation.

"No," he answered.

"Then go," Kensi piped up as she joined the conversation. "You know everything is still going to be here when you get back. None of us are going anywhere."

Callen eyed Kensi off. Marcus was due to arrive in LA in tomorrow. "Are you trying to get rid of me before he arrives?"

Kensi blushed, a slight delicate shade of pink dusting her cheeks. "No. Though now that you mention it, might not be a bad idea. How about I take you to the airport? I'll even buy your ticket."

Callen shook his head. "Even if you get rid of me, Sam is still here."

"Mr Callen."

They all looked at Hetty.

"I am perfectly capable of warning Marcus to behave. In fact I already have," Hetty told them.

Kensi spluttered in protest at this, and Sam and Callen grinned at her, ending up receiving a glare from her that probably would have been meant for Hetty but no one would have been game to do that. Hetty managed to fight off a smile whilst remaining serious. Callen suddenly realised that Hetty had been smiling and showing slightly more emotion to them in the last couple of weeks. The changes had definitely extended to her as well.

Hetty continued. "As well as running a complete background check on him. Which, let me assure you, came back perfectly clean, except for some speeding tickets he received a few years ago. So, you have nothing to worry about. Aside from the fact that you already know him and know that Annabel trusts him, I have also spent a little time with him over the years and trust him as well."

"Hetty, I…" But Callen trailed off because he couldn't think of a decent reason not to go. Especially since he wanted to.

Hetty looked at him over her glasses and waited, with that knowing look on her face that everyone knew she got when she was destined to get her way.

"Fine, I'll go," Callen conceded. He looked at Kensi. "You still gonna to pay for my ticket? I could wait a couple of days…" he trailed off with a grin.

"That won't be necessary," Hetty said as she handed Callen an envelope. He looked up at her questioningly. "The plane leaves in two hours," she finished.

Sam chuckled. "You'd better move it G."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Half an hour later Callen was back at his apartment. He had just finished packing when there was a knock on his door. He opened it, after checking through the peep hole, to find his mother waiting. He stepped back to let her in and closed the door.

"I hear you are going to see Annabel," Rebecca said as he turned and faced her.

Callen nodded and smiled. "I've been kicked out. Hetty even brought me the ticket."

Rebecca smiled. "I know you've been missing her."

Callen tilted his head and studied her expression but it didn't help. "How do you know that?" He'd done his best to focus on them when he had been with her, Mary and Grace these last two weeks.

Rebecca's smile softened and she got that look in her eyes that Callen knew meant she was thinking about his father.

"You have the same look in your eyes that your father did whenever he had to go away without us. You care about her a lot, don't you?"

Callen nodded. "Yeah." He hadn't had one of those conversations with her. The whole love kind of one. He knew he could if he wanted to. He felt enough of a connection to confide in her, but it hadn't come up yet. There had been too many other things for them to learn and talk about.

Rebecca stepped forward and handed him a small box. "I want you to have this. You can do with it what you want, but it's yours."

Callen took it and opened it to see a ring with a princess cut emerald in the centre with two small, similar cut diamonds set into the platinum band, one on each side. It wasn't a large stone, but it was beautiful, vibrant green and clear. Just like Annabel's eyes. Callen looked up from it to Rebecca.

"What is this?" he asked. He wasn't quite sure if she was hinting at something similar to what Gibbs had suggested to him a couple of weeks ago.

"Your father gave it to me when you were born. Emerald is your birthstone. Diamonds were ours. He also gave me a similar one when Amy was born, with her birthstone instead. I wanted you to have it. I don't have much I can give you that's connected to your father."

"Don't you want to keep it?" Callen asked. He knew she'd only kept a few precious things with her over the years. It had been easier to run at a moment's notice if she didn't have a lot of baggage.

"I still have these," Rebecca said, pulling out a necklace that held her engagement, wedding and eternity rings on it. "After Amy died, when I had a chance I went to her grave and left hers there."

Callen looked at her curiously about that; just leaving something that precious at a grave. Rebecca shook her head and expanded on her comment.

"I buried it. I always planned on giving them to you both one day. When I eventually got you back."

Callen looked down at the ring in his hand. "It's not something I would wear. Is there something in particular you want me to do with it?" He was curious. He hadn't learnt enough about her to know if she was matchmaking or not.

Rebecca smiled and shook her head. "No. I'm not suggesting anything. I just wanted you to have it … in case you wanted to give it to someone," she added at the end in a tone that suggested she had some idea what she thought he might end up doing with the ring.

"Annabel?" Wanted to give it to someone? Callen held back a smile. She was matchmaking in a way. Not outright, but she was letting him know she wanted him to have someone to make him happy. Like his father had made her.

Rebecca nodded. "Maybe. She's important to you. Plus, it matches her eyes. But no, it's up to you what you do with it. I'm not trying to force you to do anything. If you just want to keep in the box to look at, if you want to give it to her, if you don't want it at all. Whatever, it's up to you."

Callen closed the box and slipped it into his pocket. "Thank you. It's beautiful."

Rebecca looked around and saw his packed bag in the corner. "Are you ready to go? I could take you to the airport if you want."

Callen shook his head. "Thanks, but Hetty's already organised a cab. I'll see you when I get back."

Rebecca nodded. "Mary should be out of hospital by then. We'll finally get to have a decent family dinner."

Callen thought that sounded great. He found himself liking Mary, in more ways than just the fact that she was family. Turned out she had a similar sense of humour to him and they had continued to hit it off after that first discussion. The beep of the cab's horn from outside interrupted his thoughts.

Callen stepped closer to Rebecca and hugged her goodbye. He picked up his bag and they walked out together.


	65. Chapter 65

_A/N - As always, thanks for the reviews and support._

_A little Kensi/Marcus for your enjoyment today._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o  
_

**Chapter 65**

Kensi Blye was nervous.

And she was missing Callen. Their chat about her and Marcus was so long ago, (okay so less than a week but still it _felt _like so long ago), and she was desperately in need of some of his reassurance right now.

Kensi was also pacing. She wasn't used to waiting. She found it extremely frustrating – outside of an op that is where, in general, she had the patience of a saint if it was required.

But waiting was normal at an airport. And that was where she was.

LAX.

Waiting for Marcus whose flight had arrived forty five minutes ago. Thirty minutes late. He should be through soon. He'd sent her a text when they'd landed. He was there. Somewhere. Behind those sliding doors. And soon he would walk through and she had absolutely no idea what would happen then.

And now she was back to nervous. Because Kensi hated not knowing. At least in her personal life. Work – not knowing and flying by the seat of your pants was normal, a given. One she could accept. But personally, not knowing drove her crazy and she avoided it as much as she could. Ever since her father died and they didn't know why. She'd done everything she could since to make sure she always knew what was happening and that she was in control of her personal life. Aside from when her fiancé died, she'd managed that quite successfully.

Until Marcus Evans had swept into her life. And now she was nervous _and_ pacing.

And dare she admit it … she was excited. The butterflies in her stomach weren't all bad.

Kensi glanced at her watch. Fifty minutes. Her gaze found its way back to the doors as more people filed out and she sighed to herself when she didn't see the tall, dark and handsome man she was waiting for.

Marcus. The man she had been dreaming about almost every night since she'd met him. And they weren't just sexy, heated dreams either. Since her chat with Callen they'd been about 50/50 on the sexy vs normal life scale. Some were just of the two of them doing simple things; the beach, the movies, dinner, chatting about the day. The others – Well, let's just leave it at the others would make her blush if anyone knew what was in them. Which, admittedly, made her a little nervous that the reality wouldn't live up to the dreams.

Kensi focused back on the doors, frustration rearing up again. Surely he couldn't be much longer. As that thought finished, she finally saw him walk through the doors. Her breath caught, the frustration disappeared and her pulse leapt, as did the butterflies. At least her dreams had been realistic on what he looked like and the attraction she felt was still there. A few pictures of them in her dreams drifted through her mind and she couldn't help but hope that the dreams had been accurate on all accounts.

Kensi took a moment to observe him before he spotted her. He was well dressed, as always; casually this time, not in a suit. Obviously something comfortable for the flight from Hawaii. The dark blue shirt and black shorts looked soft and her fingers itched to touch them. She had a feeling they would be exactly as they looked.

Kensi's eyes drifted from their perusal of the rest of his body to his face and she saw a smile on it that was just for her. Their eyes locked and she felt a flush on her cheeks. For some reason, she felt that this man who was walking toward her could see right past her walls and knew exactly what she was feeling and had been thinking about when she'd been checking him out just now.

Whilst others around Kensi went rushing up to their arrivals, hugs and kisses abounding of all different varieties, Kensi stayed rooted to the spot, not entirely sure how to greet him. They'd spent a lot of time on the phone over the last couple of weeks, gotten to know a fair amount about each other, but she, Kensi Blye, for the life of her didn't know if she should run up and throw her arms around him, kiss him or shake his hand. She knew what she wanted but not whether she should. She really hated being nervous. So, for once she waited and let the guy led.

Marcus was about six steps away from her when someone walked in between them and she felt a momentary flash of disappointment. Her heart had kicked up a notch at the look in his eyes and she had a feeling he had no hesitation about knowing how to greet her.

"Marcus," came an all too familiar voice – for once, most unwelcome. What the hell was Sam doing here?

"Sam," Marcus replied. Kensi watched in disbelief as they shook hands.

"Sam?" Kensi repeated; shock, annoyance, frustration and a multitude of other emotions flooding through her. This was so not what she expected.

Sam turned around and grinned at her. "Hey Kenz, didn't see you there."

"Like hell," Kensi retorted. She caught the look on Marcus' face and knew he was holding back a laugh at her reaction. She tried to ignore the warm feeling that settled on her when she saw the disappointment in his eyes too, that their initial meeting had been interrupted.

"What are you doing here Sam?" Kensi asked.

"Hetty sent me. She needs you back at the office. I volunteered to take Marcus wherever he needs to go."

"I repeat – like hell. Hetty would have called and told me."

Sam shrugged. "Maybe you've got a missed call."

Kensi reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She shook her head slightly. Nope, no missed calls. She stepped away from the two men who were driving her nuts in very different ways. No missed call but she definitely had one to make.

"Hetty," Kensi said firmly when she heard her boss on the other end of the phone.

Sam turned back to Marcus with a raised eyebrow. "Hope you know what you are getting into. She's fiery."

Marcus looked at Sam, held his gaze. "I know. So, spill it. Why are you here? Hetty's already told me clearly what she'll do to me if I hurt Kensi and, no offence Sam, but I don't think you're quite as scary as Hetty."

Sam tried not to smile. He knew exactly how scary Hetty could be. "Maybe not," he shook his head, "but it doesn't mean I'm gonna stand back and not do anything."

"Wouldn't expect otherwise. So, hit me with it." Marcus grinned. "Not literally of course."

Sam had to admire Marcus for his willingness not to back down or run from this. "Simple. She's family. You're not … Not yet. Hurt her, there's more than Hetty you'll have to answer to. Callen feels the same, even if he's not here to tell you in person."

Marcus grinned and Sam frowned slightly confused by the look.

"I know exactly how Callen feels already Sam." The grinned dropped, a serious expression replacing it. "I don't want to hurt Kensi. I don't intend on hurting Kensi. But I don't know what is going to happen. I'm still getting to know her. She's still getting to know me. I really like her, Sam. I want this to work, more than anything else. I'm determined to make it work with her. Help me?"

Sam could hear the sincerity in Marcus' words and nodded. "I'll help. I want her happy. You just might be the guy to do it."

"I'll appreciate any help or tips you've got," Marcus replied. They turned toward Kensi, who was now putting her phone back in her pocket.

"Go home, Sam," Kensi ordered. "Brush up on your backstopping skills. Hetty didn't send you."

Sam shrugged, but they all knew he didn't care that he'd been caught out. "Miscommunication. I'll see you around Marcus. Maybe dinner sometime."

"I'll get Kensi to organise something," Marcus agreed as he shook Sam's hand again.

Sam started to go, but suddenly turned back, looked at Marcus and chuckled. "You're good, Man. Very good. If you ever decide to change jobs, I'm sure Hetty could find something for you to do with that talent." Sam shook his head and glanced briefly at Kensi. "First tip. Don't say anything about her driving."

Marcus raised his eyebrows and looked between the two of them.

"Go Sam!" Kensi repeated firmly.

Sam went, still thinking about how easily Marcus had turned around a threatening warning about not hurting Kensi to having him so easily agree to being on his side in helping win her over. Sam smiled. Somehow he had a feeling that anything Marcus put his mind to, he would be successful at. Sam could already tell that Marcus and his mind were wholly devoted to making the relationship with Kensi work if it could. And that made Sam feel good.

Kensi turned back to Marcus after Sam was out of earshot. "I'm so sorry," Kensi apologised. "I had no idea –"

Marcus covered her mouth with his hand and Kensi forgot where she was going.

"Hi," Marcus said as his hand moved away.

"Hi," Kensi replied softly.

"I've missed you," Marcus added as he moved closer, his arm slipping around her waist and gently pulling her closer.

"Missed you too," Kensi answered, her voice barely more than a whisper. He was so close, barely an inch from her. She smiled and raised up on her toes, closing that small distance between their lips. The fireworks started they moment their lips touched.

So much better than her dreams.


	66. Chapter 66

_A/N - As always, thanks for the amazing support on this story._

_Hope you enjoy this chapter. I loved writing it._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o  
_

**Chapter 66**

Callen made his way up the hill. The grass was green and soft, the sky a beautiful cornflower blue – and not a cloud to be seen. The breeze was light and he already felt himself relaxing.

Grey had met him at the airport and driven them the two hours to where Annabel was. LA to this little village in Ireland, whose name he seriously couldn't remember or pronounce, was a long trek, but he was glad he'd made it.

He'd been away from her long enough.

The higher up the hill he got - closer to her - the more the tiredness slipped into the background; excitement and anticipation taking its place.

Callen remembered smiling as they had driven through the little village and up to the cottage. Annabel had tried so hard to explain what it was like to him and, whilst she had done well, there weren't really words to describe how beautiful and peaceful it felt just looking at it.

After a few minutes, Pen (she'd asked him to call her that) had smiled at him, taken his hand and led him through the house and out the back door.

"She's up there," Pen said pointing to a small hill behind them. "It's where she goes to think. She's been doing that quite a bit these last couple of days. Just go through the gate and then walk up. You won't be able to miss her. Aim for the tree."

Callen had smiled and kissed Pen on the cheek. Apparently it was quite obvious that he was desperate to see Annabel again.

So Callen walked, pausing occasionally to look around. He saw the wildflowers in the valley that she had spoken of; saw the woods and, when he listened carefully, heard the birds whistling happily. He couldn't hear the waves but he was pretty sure he had spotted where the cliffs were in the distance.

As he got closer to the top and the tree, he made sure his steps were careful and quiet. He didn't want to disturb her thoughts and he wanted to surprise her. He hadn't needed to worry. She was lying there on a soft looking red blanket, asleep, in the shade of a beautiful large tree, whose branches spread out wide. The first branches were high enough off the ground that he would have only just been able to reach them if he jumped. She had a towel under her head as a pillow and was lying on her back with her hands resting on her stomach, a soft smile on her face.

Callen moved closer, slowly and quietly. He watched her. He watched the gentle breeze play with her blonde hair, watched a bright blue and yellow butterfly dance around her before flying down into the valley.

Callen saw the flowers that were just to the side of Annabel's head and guessed she'd been for a walk down into that valley. He smiled at the picture that came to mind. One of her wandering around amongst those flowers. It was a relaxed, carefree Annabel he pictured; so very different from the one of the capable and strong agent he'd seen during those early days when she'd been protecting him.

Relaxed she was. Callen could finally see it. He'd heard it in her voice on the phone but now he had the proof he'd been wanting. The tension that had been in her those two weeks, radiating from her most of the time, was gone; completely. The bruise on her face had disappeared and he hoped that all the rest had as well. Even the dark circles that had been under her eyes had faded to nothing. Seeing all of that, it helped Callen fully understand just what this place did for her and why she had needed to come here. He was glad that she had somewhere like this to recover.

Callen laid down on the blanket, next to her, on his side. He rested his head on his hand, being careful not to bump her. He continued to watch. He drank in the sight of the woman he loved and had missed so much these last two weeks. The time that he'd spent getting to know his family, seeing Mary getting stronger by the day had been great. She had been right; he had needed it. But he needed her too.

Seeing her was almost enough and Callen enjoyed that for a few more minutes before the urge to wake her was too strong. He carefully brushed a stray hair off her face and placed a gentle, light kiss on her lips.

"G."

His name came out on a sigh before her eyes even fluttered open, making him wonder what she was dreaming about.

When she did open her eyes Annabel smiled. "You really here or am I just dreaming?"

Callen smiled and brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek and her lips. Her eyelids drifted closed a little at the touch.

"I'm really here, but nice to know you've been dreaming about me," he teased gently. He hadn't called to tell her he was coming. He'd planned on it being a surprise.

"Best thing to be dreaming about," she replied sleepily. "Hi."

"Hi. Miss me?"

Annabel smiled. "You know I did." She moved slightly closer to him, reached her hand up to his face. Her fingers brushed over his cheek before she cupped his face and pulled him gently toward her so she could kiss him. It didn't take much encouragement at all for him to move closer.

Her lips touched his and Callen was home. Right here with her, next to her, that was all he needed. It wouldn't matter where they were, as long as she was there beside him. His arm slipped around her waist to her back and he pulled her closer. He deepened the kiss, letting all the emotions he felt pour into it in an attempt to show her just how much she meant to him. When they broke apart, she smiled at him again.

"Guess you missed me too," she added.

"You know I did," Callen repeated her answer.

"I was coming to you soon," Annabel told him softly. "I just had to figure out when to come home."

The breeze caught her hair and swept some of it across her face. Both of them went to brush it away, their hands brushing each other's as they did. Their fingers slipped together and tightened around the other's.

Callen smiled. "Thought you were home?" he asked.

"Mostly." Annabel pulled their hands close to her lips and brushed a kiss over his fingers. "Turns out there is something else I need these days to be truly home."

"What's that?" Callen asked, sure he knew the answer if she was feeling anything similar to him.

"You," Annabel whispered as she moved closer for another kiss.

Callen wasn't entirely sure how long it was before the kiss ended. When it did, he laid down on his back and Annabel curled up into him; her head nestled between his shoulder and his neck. He felt her take a deep, slow breath and smiled.

"You seem a lot more relaxed." Callen wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. There was no way he was going to voluntarily go two weeks without her again.

"I am," Annabel agreed as she slid an arm around his waist. "That's one of the beautiful things about here; hard to hold onto all that tension. It's a good place to think."

"What have you been thinking about?" Callen asked as his fingers made their way into her soft hair and twirled it round.

Callen felt Annabel smile against his neck.

"You," she said. "Me. Us. Everything that has happened. Been trying to figure out what I'm going to do next."

"Come up with anything?" Callen asked. He was a little nervous about her answer, though the fact that she considered him an essential part to being home helped.

"Yeah. I'm not going back to work," she said quietly. "I can't do it anymore. I can't go back. Too many memories, too close to the surface. I need to deal with them again. They're different now, knowing the truth about why everything happened, so I have to face that and that's going to take time. I need to give myself that."

As much as Callen wished for a different reason for her deciding to quit, he couldn't help but be relieved that she had made that choice herself, without his prodding or input. He did have a feeling that this was what she was going to decide. She'd indicated as much when they had been on the beach at Brighton.

"You know I have to admit," he told her, "that I'm glad about that. Don't think I want you doing anything dangerous anymore."

Annabel raised her head and looked up at him. "Any chance of you feeling the same way?"

Callen knew she wasn't asking him to quit, but just letting him know she wanted him safe too.

"Yeah, but I don't know what else I'd do. I've talked to Hetty about stepping back from the undercover side, stepping back a little from the action." Callen saw the doubt on her face and grinned. "No, not to take a desk job. Don't think I'm ready for that, but she's seeing what the opportunities are for me to move into a safer role. I've got too much to live for these days," Callen added, stroking the hair off her face that the breeze kept playing with.

Annabel caught one side of her bottom lip between her teeth and her look turned hesitant before she asked her next question. "How would you feel if I told you I wanted to move to LA?"

"How would I feel?" Callen repeated as he tried to keep his heart jumping out of his chest with excitement. He hadn't really known how to ask her to come with him. Her family was here; they'd be so far away if she did and he knew how close they were.

"Yeah. Do you want me to?" she asked.

"Yes. Definitely yes." Callen couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice and saw that she heard it. He grinned. "On one condition."

Annabel tilted her head, curiously. "What would that be?"

"You come live with me," Callen said. "I want to come home to you every night. Go to sleep and wake up next to you every day."

He saw the look on her face; saw how much she had been hoping for that answer, or at least something similar.

"I think I can live with that," she agreed.

"We'll have to find a house first though. I don't actually have one."

Annabel grinned. "It's been a while since I went house-hunting."

"If you wanted to work, I'm sure Hetty could find something for you," Callen added, not entirely sure how much of her decision to quit had been so she could move to LA with him.

Annabel shook her head, pulled away out of his arms and sat up on the blanket.

"I don't want to work. I don't need to either. Money's not an issue. Marcus took care of handling what Tom left me. He's very good at what he does."

Callen hadn't even thought about the money. He knew he had plenty to take care of them. Not like his living expenses had been a lot, especially when he was undercover and it was a part of the mission. He stashed whatever he hadn't needed away in some investment funds under some alias that had been supplied for him and left it alone. Hetty had been taking care of it since he'd moved to OSP - which she had done most successfully. A brief thought flashed through his mind and he wondered if Hetty had perhaps used Marcus as well. She did say that she knew him and trusted him.

"So I'm … I've got a rich girlfriend have I? You never told me that," Callen said as he pushed himself up to a sitting position.

Annabel shrugged and stood up. "Not rich, but between that and the MI6 pension I'll get it should be enough to pay the bills and have a little fun."

Callen got to his feet and stepped up behind her. There was more behind her tone. There was something she wasn't telling him. "What is it?" he asked as he put his hands gently on her shoulders. He could feel the tension that had returned to them. "What's wrong?"

Annabel turned to face him. Callen could see the worry on her face but he wasn't sure what that was about. He just hoped she trusted him as much as he thought and would tell him.

"I've had so much to think about," she said. "My mind has spent a lot of time on Zoe and how I felt after she died … When I thought it was my fault."

"It wasn't," Callen assured her as he pulled her close.

"I know, but after…" Annabel paused. Callen felt rather than saw the rise and fall of her chest as she took a deep breath before continuing. "I swore that I wouldn't go through that again. I couldn't bear the thought of losing another child, of maybe making the same mistakes … of failing again." Her voice broke a little at the end.

"Annabel." Callen tilted her head up and saw the tears shimmering in her eyes. "You're not worried that I'll pressure you for kids are you?"

Annabel shook her head. "No."

Callen let out a sigh of relief. "Because I won't. If we have them, great. If we don't, I think I can have plenty of fun in my life with just you."

Annabel dropped her head against his chest and took another deep breath.

Callen had a feeling that his words hadn't helped. They hadn't made things worse, but she certainly hadn't relaxed at all with the reassurance or teasing

"I was scared that I'd feel like another child was just a replacement for Zoe," Annabel admitted. "That I couldn't love another one as much as I did her. I didn't think it would be fair on that child, but I was wrong." Annabel looked up at him, a tear escaping from each eye. "I can … I do."

Callen frowned and tilted his head, the wheels turning her words over in his mind. A little bit of hope flared. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

She tried to blink back the tears but the action just caused them to fall. Callen reached out to brush them off her cheeks.

"I'm pregnant, G. That first time we..." She stopped there but he didn't need her to say anymore. That much was easy to work out, it had been the only time that they hadn't had any protection, though given the circumstances neither of them were thinking about that at all.

"And I'm scared," Annabel continued. "Not that I won't love this child because I already do. He or she is part of you, how could I not? But with everything that has happened, what if…." She trailed off as the tears filled and overflowed again and her voice choked up.

Callen wrapped his arms around her, pulled her closer and held her tight. She was pregnant, with his child. His heart soared over that fact even as the worry settled over him from her words as he realised what she meant; what she was so worried about. The injuries she'd suffered, the drugs that had been in her system and everything else that had happened over those two weeks.

"Whatever happens, we'll figure it out together," Callen promised softly, his breath drifting through her hair as he spoke. "Are you sure? You wouldn't be far along."

Annabel nodded. "That physical I had last week. They picked it up on the blood tests. At least this time Grey wasn't the one to tell me."

"Grey?" Callen was intrigued and was sure there was a story behind this.

Annabel gave a rueful grin as she looked back to his face. "With Zoe, Grey walked into my apartment one morning, threw a test kit at me and told me I was pregnant and to go prove it. Not exactly the way a girl wants to find out she's pregnant."

Callen's eyebrows lifted. "He knew?"

"Yeah." Annabel nodded. "Don't know how but somehow he knew before me. I had no idea."

Callen smiled and brought his hands up to cup her face. With his thumbs he brushed the few remaining tears off her cheeks that hadn't been soaked up by his shirt. "So I'm going to be a dad?"

Annabel smiled back tentatively. "You're really happy about this?" she asked him.

Callen could see the mix of uncertainty and hope in her eyes.

"Yes. Can't say I wouldn't have minded having time to have you all to myself, but we've still got a little while yet. I love you Annabel. I'm not running. Together. We go from here, wherever that ends up … Together."

Callen reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring box Rebecca had given him. He'd spent a lot of the time on the flight thinking about this; what he wanted out of this relationship with Annabel. Her by his side, for however many days he had left. He had no doubts about that fact.

Callen reached for one of her hands and put the box in it. She looked up at him, but he didn't try and decipher what he could see in her eyes. He was nervous enough, in a good way.

"What –"

Callen's fingers went to her lips to stop her saying anything. He opened the box for her and heard the small sharp intake of breath and the sigh as she let it out. She looked back up at him and he held her gaze as he spoke.

"I want you in my life, by my side. I love you and I need you. For as long as you'll have me. Marry me Annabel. Stay with me. Let me protect you this time."

Annabel looked at him wide eyed and slightly shocked. "G I … This isn't bec-"

Callen cut her off again, knowing what she was thinking.

He shook his head. "No. This isn't because you're pregnant. That's just a bonus. I was going to do this anyway. I've already asked your parents, Grey and even Marcus."

Annabel's eyebrows lifted and, if possible, her eyes went a little wider in shock. "You asked Marcus? When?"

"On the drive here with Grey. Called him. Woke him up."

Callen had spoken to her father on the phone too, not wanting to wait until he was here in person in case Annabel had been there. He hadn't been sure he'd want to let her out of his sight for a while once he had her again. And he wanted to do this right. He still remembered the shocked expression on Grey's face as he'd listened in on the call. Actually, it was something similar to what he was seeing on Annabel's right now.

Annabel chuckled. "And he still said yes?"

"Yeah, but only after he had my permission to continue to date Kensi without me interfering."

Marcus was good. The conversation had taken no more than a few minutes, including initial and final pleasantries. Marcus had gotten straight to the point after Callen had asked for his blessing. Not permission, because he didn't intend on asking permission from anyone except Annabel. She was the only one whose answer really held any weight. The others were important, just not _the _one that mattered.

For some reason though, Callen had a feeling that Marcus had been prepared. His response had been immediate and, considering he had woken Marcus up, that had surprised him. Surprised or otherwise, it had also given Callen a little more confirmation that Marcus was actually serious about Kensi and their potential relationship. Callen hadn't been too worried about agreeing though, because there was still Hetty and Sam to ensure Marcus behaved himself.

"He is very good at negotiation," Annabel added with a grin.

"Yes he is. Plus, he's quicker than you to answer my question."

Annabel smiled softly. "Yes," she finally answered. "Yes, I will stay with you. Yes, I will let you protect me this time, protect us." She lifted her hand to his cheek. "Yes, I want you in my life, need you in my life. Yes, G Callen. I will marry you."

Callen pulled her in for a kiss then; a long, slow and sweet kiss, full of need and love. He felt more than just being home. He felt complete. He'd found his mother, knew who his father was and was starting to find out things about himself as well. He had a sister, a niece. He had the rest of his family, his team. Soon, she'd be his wife, his always, and then there would be their child. He had everything he could ever want. And right here, in his arms, was something he needed desperately in his life and he wasn't worried about admitting it. She was as essential to him as air and water.

The ringing of a phone broke them apart and Annabel shook her head slightly with a smile and slight chuckle. She reached into her pocket and pulled hers out holding it to her ear as she answered.

"I said yes, now go inside. We'll be down sometime."

"I'll put the champagne on ice then," Grey replied before he hung up.

Annabel couldn't help but smile at what she heard in her brother's voice. Happiness and relief. For her. For her because he was glad she'd found someone real this time. Someone worthy and someone who loved her as much as she loved him.

"He has lousy timing, as always," she commented.

"Grey?" Callen queried as she slipped the phone back into her pocket.

Annabel nodded. "I'm sure he's been waiting outside looking up here hoping to hear something. We might need to share our news a little sooner than I'd hoped."

"What do you mean?"

"Grey's going to have champagne ready to celebrate."

Callen understood. No alcohol. She wasn't going to do anything at all to jeopardise this pregnancy.

"At least this time, you'll be telling him. Not the other way round."

"I was just hoping to keep it to ourselves for a little while longer."

"Until you could be sure that everything was okay," Callen concluded. She wasn't far along and so much could go wrong.

Annabel nodded.

"How long until we'll know?" Callen asked.

"Nothing will show up on a scan for a while. Maybe a couple of weeks or so, but it will still be a while before we'll know for sure if there are any issues."

A couple of weeks was a long time. At least in terms of waiting for this kind of news.

"In the meantime, let's just enjoy and not worry," Callen encouraged her.

"Not worry?" Annabel repeated with a lift of her eyebrows.

Callen grinned. "If I catch you worrying I'll do whatever it takes to distract you from it."

Annabel grinned and Callen had a faint feeling that his plan was about to backfire, though that wouldn't necessarily be in a bad way.

"What? Like kiss me?" Annabel asked, almost innocently. The tone was innocent enough, but the sparkle in her eyes and the smile that was playing on her lips wasn't.

"Maybe." Callen wondered where she might go with this and waited.

"Well then," Annabel said, "perhaps I'll be worrying often, just a little."

As much as she tried to keep the innocent tone in her voice, the way she wrapped her arms around his neck and settled against him, combined with the continued sparkle and smile, told Callen that she wasn't thinking innocent thoughts.

"Perhaps I should make it the other way around then. Don't worry and then I'll kiss you," he countered as his arms made their way around her.

"Good," Annabel said softly. "Then I'm not worried at all right now."

"Good," Callen repeated softly and lowered his head once again. His lips claimed hers and he took what she was so willing to give him. His hands ran lightly down her back and he gently pulled her tigher against him. His hands found their way to her sides and slipped under her shirt. His thumbs gently caressed the soft skin there.

Callen broke the kiss off and stepped back a little. Annabel looked disappointed, but he smiled at her and her look turned curious. He knelt down on the ground in front of her and lifted her shirt up off her stomach before he placed a gentle lingering kiss low on it.

He stood back up and looked at Annabel's face. There were tears in her eyes but a smile there too. He cupped her face gently and focused on her eyes.

"I love you," Callen said. "Both of you."

And he knew he did. The same way she knew she did. This child was part her, how could he not?

Callen placed a soft lingering kiss on her lips and then slipped his arm around her shoulders before he added, "Shall we go fill the family in?"

Annabel nodded. "Let's go."


	67. Chapter 67

_A/N - Okay, so a couple of you were interested in the reactions of the others to Callen and Annabel's news and the bunnies decided to hop. So here are some. Not everyone. I had trouble with figuring out how some of them would react and didn't want to spend too much time trying to sort it out, because I don't want to slow down the story too much. _

_So I hope you enjoy this little look into how some of their nearest and dearest took the news._

_Thanks so much for all the reviews, alerts and favourites. I know I've said it before, but it is worth repeating. Your support and encouragement has been amazing and a boost to all the editing and polishing that has been required on this epic.  
_

_Sharebear and Ashley. Thanks for reviewing. Ashley, thanks so much, I'm glad I could keep you entertained enough to read it all so quickly._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o  
_

**Chapter 67**

_Pen, Nic and Grey._

Callen guided Annabel through the back door of the house, his hand resting on her lower back.

"Congratulations!" Grey stepped up and hugged Annabel the moment they were through.

She kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."

Annabel moved toward her parents whilst Grey looked at Callen. In all honesty, Callen wasn't entirely sure where this would go with Grey. He'd had the warning on the plane so long ago, but Grey hadn't followed up with anything in the car earlier today. He'd just given his blessing and left it at that. There had been no discussion about any of Callen's intentions as in LA or London, or anything else for that matter.

Surprisingly Grey reached out and hugged Callen briefly. When it was over Callen looked at Grey and saw the shine of tears in the taller man's eyes.

"You make her happy and you love her," Grey said quietly to him. "There's nothing in this world that I want for her more than that."

Callen nodded, not game to say anything. Really, there was nothing he could say to that.

Nic wrapped Annabel up in his arms in a delightfully tight bear hug. "Congratulations my darling girl," he said.

Annabel returned the hug and then looked up at her father. "You weren't too rough on him were you?" she asked tentatively.

Nic chuckled. "No. Just a few questions that's all."

Annabel pulled back when her mother started to laugh. "Oh no, not those questions?" she asked Pen, who just nodded. Annabel turned back to her father. "Seriously Dad? Did you?"

"Of course. It's my job."

Annabel groaned and looked back to Callen.

Callen grinned and shrugged as if it was no big deal. "I passed."

Nic had asked some rather interesting questions before he'd given his blessing. After thinking about it for a while, Callen realised it wasn't so much the answers to the questions that had been why he passed, but the fact that he had answered them honestly. Which wasn't all that easy especially when Nic asked one particular question regarding their physical relationship. Mind you, considering that they were about to tell them Annabel was pregnant, Callen was relieved that he had actually answered honestly, as awkward as that had been. If he hadn't, things would have been about to get tricky.

Annabel shook her head slightly and stepped away from her parents back to Callen's side, his arm easily and naturally slipped around her waist. Grey popped the cork on a bottle of champagne and Annabel took a deep breath after a quick glance at Callen, who nodded slightly to encourage her. She knew what had to be said next.

Grey stepped up to the two of them, glasses in hand. When he held them out to them, Annabel looked her brother in the eye and shook her head.

Grey's eyes went wide, his mouth dropped open a little before he managed to close it. "You're-"

Annabel quickly put her hand over his mouth and couldn't resist a small chuckle.

"My turn this time. I'm pregnant," she said softly, though loud enough for her parents to her as well.

There were shocked gasps around the room and Grey quickly put the glasses down, picked her up and spun her around. Annabel couldn't help but laugh at his reaction.

Grey placed her back on her feet and cupped her face in his hands. He brought his head down level with hers. His eyes were serious. "Are you okay? Are you both okay?" he asked with a brief glance down.

Annabel's smile dropped a little. "We don't know yet. Too early."

Grey nodded. He glanced over to Callen. "You okay with this?" he asked.

Callen smiled. "More than okay. I promise you that."

Grey brushed a kiss across Annabel's cheek before he stepped back. "Guess I'd better find you something you can drink to celebrate," he added before moving away to search through the pantry for something appropriately non-alcoholic.

"Sweetheart?" Pen came up next to Annabel. Callen could see the concern in Pen's eyes, perhaps even a little fear.

"I don't know Mum. I don't how this is going to go, or if it's going to go at all. I just know that at the moment, I am and I love this child already."

Pen cupped her daughter's cheek and smiled softly. Callen noticed just how much that smile was like Annabel's. "I'll be here, for whatever you need."

"I know, just like you were last time." Annabel stepped into her mother's arms and closed her eyes to hold back the tears. "I love you, Mum."

"I love you too, my sweet Annabel. This time … This time it will be perfect. I can feel it."

Callen watched Nic watch his girls. Nic then turned his gaze to Callen. There was a seriousness to those green eyes and Callen wasn't sure why.

"I'm going to ask you one question G," Nic said, using his first name instead of Callen. Perhaps a sign of being accepted into the family. "Only one and only once."

Callen nodded. "Anything."

"Did you propose before or after you knew?"

"Dad!" Annabel exclaimed.

Callen shook his head and put his hand on Annabel's arm. "It's okay," he assured her. Nic was just protecting Annabel. He understood that.

Callen looked back to Nic, made sure he held Nic's gaze and didn't look away. "After," he said. "By choice. I want your daughter in my life, Nic. Her being pregnant with my child didn't make a bit of difference to that. I will take care of them because I want to, not because I have to."

Nic nodded. "Thank you G. And congratulations." A cheeky smile blossomed on Nic's face. "I just hope that this child is just like his or her mother."

Callen lifted his eyebrows in curiosity at the laugh from Pen and Nic.

"That's cruel Dad," Grey said as he handed Annabel a glass of juice in the champagne glass.

"Do I want to know why?" Callen asked.

"According to my parents," Annabel answered and Callen turned to look at her. "I was incredibly mischievous and got into a lot of things as a child that I shouldn't have."

"Doesn't sound that different to you now," Callen teased.

Nic chuckled. "Oh believe me G, she has tamed her ways since she got older and a little wiser."

"So we're in trouble?" Callen asked with a grin. A mischievous mini Annabel sounded pretty cute.

"More than trouble," Grey said knowingly. "Especially if it is a she and she comes with a he!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

_Sam_

"You're coming with me Annabel," Callen said firmly. They were standing on the footpath outside of Sam's place.

"G, Sam's your best friend. I don't want to intrude."

Callen shook his head. "You won't."

"Look, I'll just take a walk around the block. You tell him then I'll come in. Give you two some time to talk guy stuff."

Callen chuckled as he saw Sam's door open out of the corner of his eye. "Too late."

Annabel spun around to see Sam walking towards them. She glanced at Callen and gave a tiny shake of her head as she slipped her left hand behind her back.

Sam stopped a few steps away. "You two planning on coming in or standing out here all day?" he asked.

"Coming in," Callen answered with a firm look at Annabel. She rolled her eyes slightly as Callen continued. "Unless you were just leaving. Cause if you were, we can come back later."

"I'm not going anywhere and you're obviously here for a reason G." Sam looked at Annabel and smiled. "Welcome back."

Callen couldn't help that warm fuzzy feeling that he felt when he saw how Sam and Annabel interacted. There was a bond between the two of them that had formed over those two weeks. Callen had a feeling that Sam felt he'd found a bit of kindred spirit or something in Annabel – both wanting to protect him and willing to do anything to do it.

"Hi Sam," Annabel said softly, returning his smile.

Sam turned back to Callen. "So G? Inside or out?"

"In," Callen replied. He took Annabel's hand in his, covering the ring, and started walking toward the door. He wanted to see the look on Sam's face when he told him. Callen didn't get too many chances to take Sam by surprise and he wanted to make the most of this one.

They all went inside and Callen and Annabel sat down on the couch.

"Can I get you anything?" Sam asked being a gracious host.

Annabel stood up. "Actually, directions to the bathroom would be great."

Callen looked at her and gave a barely perceptible shake of his head which she noticed. She ignored him.

"Down the hall, second door on the left," Sam told her.

"Thanks Sam." As Annabel moved away, she shot Callen a glance that clearly said 'Tell him whilst I'm gone.'

Callen couldn't help but chuckle. She'd been trying to convince him to do this with Sam on his own for most of the flight over. He hadn't wanted to, not because he didn't want to tell Sam or talk to Sam on his own, but this was about the two of them, not just him. He looked at Sam who had taken a seat across from him and was waiting with an expectant look on his face.

"What's going on G?" Sam prompted when Callen remained silent.

Callen lent forward. "Annabel's moving to LA. She quit MI6."

"That doesn't surprise me, considering everything she's been through, and I know she loves you. That's not hard to see." Sam's head tilted a little in contemplation. "But that's not what she wants you to talk to me about is it? That's not why she slipped away to the bathroom to give us a little boy time." Sam's voice lifted a little, "Whilst she quietly hides in the hall listening and waiting for you to do it."

They both heard Annabel giggle and her soft footsteps as she rejoined them.

"Definitely a good thing that I'm not going back to work if I can't even covertly listen in on a conversation," Annabel added as she sat down next to Callen, still ensuring her left hand stayed out of sight.

Sam grinned. "Not your skills, Annabel. The bathroom door squeaks loudly. Haven't gotten to fixing it yet." Sam looked between the two of them and then focused on Callen. "So what is it? You two getting married?"

Callen and Annabel's eyes went wide in surprise. Callen certainly hadn't expected Sam to guess.

"Umm," Callen started.

Sam chuckled. "You think I didn't see that coming G? You might have surprised me falling in love so quickly, but seeing the changes in you." Sam smiled. "It was easy to see that you two were going to be grabbing with both hands any chance at being happy. Congratulations. I'm very happy for you both."

Callen looked over at Annabel who was giggling softly. He smiled.

"You gonna let me see the ring or what?" Sam asked as he sat forward. Annabel smiled, lent toward Sam and held out her hand. He took it in his bigger one, gently, and studied the ring for a moment before letting her hand go. "Very nice G. Did you get Hetty's help with that?"

"I am more than capable of going ring shopping on my own," Callen protested.

Sam just raised an eyebrow and waited.

"Fine." Callen rolled his eyes. "Rebecca gave it to me. My father gave it to her when I was born. My birthstone and theirs. She thought I might like it and that there might be someone I'd want to have it."

Sam grinned.

"Hey," Callen continued his protest. "I could have chosen something else. I have remarkable taste I'll have you know, but this felt right."

"I'm sure you could've G. It's so good to see you with a nice girl," Sam said making the most of the opportunity to tease G with that line.

Callen grinned at his partner. "At least now you can lay off whining about me finding one."

"Guess I'll just have to find something else about you to whine about then won't I? And Annabel," Sam turned to her before Callen had a chance to make any come-back. "Thank you. As much as he's a pain in the arse, I'm glad he's gonna stick around a little longer."

They all knew what Sam was meaning. Callen had something else to live for, a reason to not get himself into too much trouble.

Annabel smiled. "So am I."

"You told Hetty yet?" Sam asked Callen.

Callen shook his head. "Nope. But if you knew, I'll bet that she already does."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

_Speaking of Hetty_

They left Sam's half an hour later and made their way to see Hetty at the office. Apparently things had been a little busy the last few days whilst Callen had been in Ireland and Hetty was making the most of the quiet weekend to catch up on some paperwork.

"You know you could have told Sam about the baby," Annabel said as they drove.

Callen smiled. "You wouldn't be saying that if you had ever witnessed Sam's face when he found out he was about to become an uncle. Seriously, they say women glow when their pregnant. They've got nothing on Sam. The man can't keep smiling about it. And everyone in the office knows that 'I'm about to be an uncle' look."

She'd never asked him to keep it from Sam, but Callen understood her fears of not wanting to have to tell too many people if it didn't work out. She kept telling him that he needed someone to talk to about it. He simply told her 'I've got you or I can talk to Grey if it's a guy thing' and left it at that. He'd tell Sam when they had some confirmation that things were looking good. He had no idea what it was like to lose a child and he wanted to do what he could for her to make these next few weeks less stressful. This was one of those things.

"G," Annabel started.

"It's okay," he said. "We agreed to keep this as quiet as we can. Just in case." Callen reached over to take her hand. "Just us, Grey and your parents. No one else until that scan comes back and you're ready to tell them."

They pulled up at the office and saw Hetty's Jag parked there.

"Well, she's here. You ready to tell her?" Callen asked Annabel.

"Ready. You know she's going to be so tempted to take credit for this, don't you?"

"Why?" Callen asked as they stepped out of the car.

"Let's see. She orchestrated our first meeting –"

"Yes," Callen interrupted, "but I'm sure she didn't have that kind of introduction in mind. You, I'm guessing came up with that rather interesting way of meeting me," Callen told her with a grin.

Annabel slipped under his arm and into the building as he held the door open for her.

"I will admit that first meeting was somewhat different than expected or planned," Annabel replied as they started walking down the hallway hand in hand.

"I would hope so, Annabel," Hetty said from behind the two of them. They spun around to see Hetty coming up behind them. "The woman destined to melt his heart should have more than your typical bog standard first meeting. It should be memorable, don't you think?"

Hetty walked past them and continued to her desk.

"I still don't know how she does that," Callen whispered in Annabel's ear, gaining a soft giggle. He really couldn't get enough of hearing her happy.

"Mr Callen, if you haven't figured it out by now, then it's not going to happen," Hetty told him with a wink at Annabel before she sat down. "Now, are you two here to discuss your options for work or is this a social call?"

"Have you figured out any options?" Callen asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"There are a few possibilities. They still require a little more tweaking to ensure they would work for everyone."

Annabel nudged him. Hetty looked at the two of them over the top of her glasses.

Callen grinned. "Not work this time Hetty." Callen took Annabel's hand and held it out to Hetty.

"Oh my," Hetty said, her hand going to her heart as she saw the ring. She looked up at them. "Does this mean what I think it does?" Hetty stood up and started walking around the table to them.

"Yes. Annabel has, for some strange reason," Callen teased, "agreed to marry me."

Hetty looked up at him. "I assure you … G, whilst the inner workings of love may be strange, Annabel would not have agreed to attach herself permanently to a mischief maker such as yourself without a perfectly valid reason. Just as you would not have asked her to do so, unless you had a similar excuse."

Callen grinned. "Do I detect a note of surprise Hetty?" It was the look in Hetty's eyes, one he rarely saw, where she didn't seem to be all knowing of what was happening.

Hetty took a moment to consider her answer. "Perhaps just a small one," she conceded. "Whilst I did not doubt that the two of you would find a way to ensure this relationship continued, I will admit that marriage was not the road I thought you would take. Needless to say," Hetty said, clapping her hands together in front of her and smiling at them, "I am absolutely delighted that I was wrong."

"I'm sorry Hetty. What was that?" Callen asked.

Annabel nudged him again and tried to glare at him, but since she was smiling and finding it hard not to laugh, he didn't take it seriously.

Hetty narrowly managed to keep her smile small as she spoke. "If you did not hear the first time, Mr Callen, then I doubt you will hear it the second. Congratulations to you both."

Annabel stepped up and hugged Hetty before Callen took his turn, surprising her once again.

"There's been a few changes Hetty. Hopefully you'll get used them," Callen said quietly.

"I'm looking forward to witnessing them, as well as the ones to come," Hetty replied when he pulled back. "Now, when is the big day?"

"Just over three weeks," Callen told her.

"May I ask who is organising such a production in such a short period of time?" Hetty enquired.

Annabel smiled. She'd noticed the hope in both Hetty's eyes and voice. "My mother would be delighted if you would be able to help her with it."

Hetty nodded. "As would I. Now, shoo." Hetty waved her hands at them. "I have paperwork to clear from my desk and some vacation time I need the Director to approve."

Callen grinned. "Bye Hetty.

"Goodbye G. Goodbye Annabel."

"Bye Hetty," Annabel said softly.

They walked away, arm in arm, with Hetty watching them go. If anyone had seen her they may have described her as beaming, or perhaps that she looked like the cat that got the cream.

Hetty smiled and murmured quietly to herself. "If only I had known how those two would fit together, I would have made sure they met much sooner than this."

Callen opened the door of the building and let Annabel precede him.

"Oh," he heard her say just as she stepped out into the sunshine. "Hi Nate."

"Annabel. Callen. You're back. Nice to see you again."

"Nate. What are you doing here on the weekend?" Callen asked.

"Left some files here yesterday that I need to look over before Monday."

Callen frowned. Monday? Why was there some little bell ringing in his head about that day?

"Psych evaluations," Nate reminded him.

"Oh," Callen said.

"You know they have to be done, Callen. Now you are back, please don't try and slip out of them again. That just gets me on Hetty's bad side. If you want I'll do you first, so you can get it out of the way. Please," Nate begged.

As much as Callen wasn't looking forward to them, he knew it had to be done and he figured whilst he was still on the high of all these new changes in his life it would probably be a good time to do it. He could probably find enough to talk about that was happy to keep Nate satisfied until the next one. So, even though he would still technically be on vacation, he agreed. "Monday. I'll be there Nate."

Nate nodded and looked rather relieved. He started to move to go inside. Callen and Annabel stepped aside to let him pass. Nate had just started opening the door when Callen winked at Annabel and turned.

"Oh and Nate," he said. Nate turned around, halfway through the door and looked back to them. Callen grinned. "I'm getting married."

Nate looked stunned and let go over the door as he turned fully toward them. "Married?" Nate had barely said the words when the door bumped into him as it closed and sent him stumbling toward them.

"Yes Nate," Callen said as he reached out to steady the psychologist. "Married."

Nate looked between the two of them. "To Annabel I take it."

"Yes," Annabel agreed gently. She could see how stunned Nate was.

"Wow!" Nate said. "Congratulations. I … Congratulations."

"Thanks Nate," Callen said as he slipped his arm around Annabel. "See you on Monday." Callen steered Annabel to the car and opened the door for her. She got in and Callen walked to the driver's side, watching out of the corner of his eye as Nate headed for his car. Callen chuckled.

"That was just a little bit mean," Annabel told him when he'd closed the door. "You knew that information would distract him."

Callen looked in the rear view mirror as and watched Nate get in his car and drive off. He looked back to Annabel with a grin. "Nate doesn't live that far away. He'll remember soon enough and still have time come get the files to check over before Monday."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

_Kensi_

Callen knocked on Kensi's door and they waited for her to answer. The door opened, only it wasn't Kensi who was standing there.

"Marcus," Annabel greeted, only mildly surprised to find him here.

"Annabel. Callen. Come in."

They stepped past him and he closed the door. They turned to face him. Marcus was smiling.

"I take it since you two are here together that she said yes," Marcus said. Whilst his query was more directed at Callen, he was focused on Annabel. She knew that look. Marcus was studying her to see if she really was happy about this.

Annabel smiled and moved close to Marcus. She stood up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "Yes. You knew I would."

Marcus shrugged. "I knew you loved him so it was a pretty safe bet."

"What was a safe bet?" Kensi asked coming out of her bedroom, clearly ready for a trip to the beach.

"That Annabel would say yes."

"To?" Kensi asked; a slightly confused look on her face.

"G asked me to marry him," Annabel said.

Kensi's eyes went wide and she stopped and starred at them. "You're getting married?"

Callen grinned. "Yes."

Kensi looked back and forward between them, stunned. It reminded him of Nate's reaction. "But…" She shook her head. "Sorry. Congratulations guys. That's great." She stepped forward and hugged them both.

"Wow." Kensi still seemed a little in shock.

"Kenz," Callen said. Kensi looked at him. "This is good."

Callen knew he hadn't actually mentioned the word marriage during the conversation the other night with Kensi, but he hadn't actually expected her to be this shocked. Perhaps she was on the same wavelength as Hetty had been. The relationship yes, but not the marriage. It was a big commitment and coming from a guy who seemed to avoid it like the plague in his personal life, he supposed that could explain their surprise. After all, he didn't even own a house or apartment and rarely stayed put for long. That was another thing that would be changing soon.

"I know," Kensi replied and smiled. "Just didn't expect it from you."

"Neither did Hetty," Callen added.

Kensi raised an eyebrow. "You surprised Hetty?"

"Yep," Callen agreed.

"Now that I would have loved to have witnessed."


	68. Chapter 68

_A/N - Thanks so much everyone for the reviews on the last chapter. Glad you enjoyed those little snippets._

_Hope you enjoy the start of their big day. Note to remember - in this story Sam isn't married, hence no mention of a wife.  
_

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o_

_._

**Chapter 68**

_The Wedding - Part 1._

"G?"

Sam's voice brought Callen out of the daze he had slipped into.

"Sam?"

"You all right?"

Callen turned around and looked at his partner. "I'm fine Sam."

"Not getting cold feet are you?" Sam's voice showed the concern he was feeling. He knew this was a big step for his friend. G and Annabel hadn't really been together that long but they'd been through so much together that the time didn't matter. He knew that G wanted this but he was concerned that perhaps the quickness of this might be causing G to worry. After all, it had only been two months since they'd first met.

"Not cold feet. Not cold anything. Just…" Callen took a moment to think how to explain what he was feeling to Sam.

His Best Friend.

His Best Man.

A Brother.

"Just sometimes I wonder how I got this lucky. After the life I've had, with barely any family, suddenly I've got all I could ever want. My mother, a sister, a niece. All of you. Now a wife and …" Callen paused. He still hadn't told Sam about the baby. The first scan hadn't been able to give them enough, so they had another one booked for next week. That would be two weeks after the first one and hopefully that scan would come back fine (and he was sure it would) and give them some degree of certainty about the pregnancy. Then Sam was first on his list to tell.

"And?" Sam prompted at the pause.

"And her family that is now mine." Callen grinned a little. "I'm almost losing track of all of them. Might need to start a list to keep in my pocket," he joked.

"How's Annabel about moving to LA?"

If G wasn't worried about this step, then this was the only other thing he could think of that would be bothering him. Whilst he believed G when he said he wasn't getting cold feet, Sam wanted to make sure there wasn't anything else causing a problem for his friend. Especially not today.

"She hasn't changed her mind has she?" Sam continued. He had spent the last few days with them in Ireland and had been reminded of just how close she was to her family and he hoped she had made the right decision about leaving.

"She's fine with it," Callen assured him. "We'll come visit often as will they. It's okay, Sam. We know what we are doing; we know the hurdles to overcome."

They'd already planned the next year of visits. Which, admittedly, revolved around the baby. They would see Annabel's family about every three months. It was just a little less than she normally saw them, except for Grey. Callen was sure that there would be plenty of phone calls between those two. Marcus was in California so he was their back up. She would be able to see him more regularly during that settling in phase. They wanted this to work and had planned around the pitfalls; hopefully well enough to avoid being affected by them too much.

"She's good for you, G. I'm really happy for you," Sam said.

Callen smiled. "Thanks, Sam. I know things have changed. But I like those changes."

"So do I," Sam replied with a grin. "Don't have to worry about you quite so much."

There was a brief pause before Sam added, "You know I'm here for both of you right?"

"Of course, Sam. I know. We both know and we both appreciate it. We're both there for you too."

There was a moment of silence between the two men; a serious, deep and meaningful moment that was sure to be lightened by some teasing banter when the next one broke the silence, but for now, both of them just wanted to enjoy that bond that was so obvious between them right at that moment.

The silence wasn't broken by either of them, but by a small, yet firm and authoritative voice from outside the tent.

"It is time, G."

Callen and Sam stepped out of the tent and looked at Hetty. She looked them both over and smiled her satisfaction.

"Perfect," she said as she reached up to brush a speck off his jacket that only she could see.

"As if it would be anything else, considering you chose the suits Hetty," Callen said with a grin back at her.

"This is an important day. I couldn't let you be anything less."

"I don't think it would matter what he was wearing Hetty," Sam commented. "I'm pretty sure Annabel will still consider him perfect even if he was dressed in a sack."

Callen rolled his eyes at Sam's comment but didn't get a chance to say anything about it before Hetty took care of it for him.

"No doubt as I am sure he would consider her the same way. One day Mr Hanna, you will understand."

Callen narrowly avoided laughing at the comment, but refrained as he realised that Hetty was completely serious. He tried to catch Hetty's eye, to see if there was the possibility that she had someone in mind. Considering that Hetty had played a reasonable part in getting him and Annabel together; that she was actively encouraging the blossoming relationship between Kensi and Marcus, Callen wouldn't at all be surprised if she did. Things were definitely pointing to Hetty having a strong desire in the matchmaking department, for at least those she considered family.

"Let's get you two in place with Grey," Hetty added as she turned away from Callen. "The bride is ready."

The two men followed Hetty to stand below the tree where the ceremony would take place.

It was on the top of the little hill in Ireland where he had proposed. A place that Annabel found to be so healing, relaxing and peaceful. When she had asked him if he minded that they get married in Ireland Callen hadn't had a problem. There weren't that many people he wanted at the wedding and it wasn't like he couldn't afford to bring all of them over, not that he had ended up paying for anything personally.

Rebecca had taken care of that. It was her gift to them. To give them a perfect start to their life together, whatever they wanted that to be.

The time Callen had spent with Rebecca, Mary and Grace since their family had come back together had allowed a solid footing to form for their relationship, as well as time to build on that foundation. They had spent a fair amount of time together, learning about what their lives had been like, what kind of people they were and he found himself loving his family easily.

They'd also spent a bit of time with Nate. It had started out as some family therapy. After all, considering their past it was highly likely they would need some. Nate had been quite surprised though at how well the three of them had adapted to the fact that they were all together again. There were no hard feelings between them. Regrets and sadness about everything they had lost, yes. But Rebecca not coming back for Callen yet having done so for Mary and Grace, that hadn't been an issue. Callen understood why she had and hadn't. And he'd explained that to Nate in an entirely separate session with just the two of them. He knew that by the time he had walked out of that private session Nate had discovered a completely different side of G Callen.

Callen had told him about Jennifer, about Annabel, explained what they had given him, how he'd felt about them and how knowing what Annabel had been through at the hands of Peter had given him the understanding of why his mother had done what she had. It was the first time Callen had really opened up to Nate about his personal life and it had shocked Nate, which had been evident by the fact that Nate hadn't said a word for the entire session as Callen talked. He'd barely managed to say 'Thank you ' as Callen had left the room.

The main reason for continuing the therapy sessions had been for Mary and Grace. He and Rebecca knew about being shot, about losing those you loved. Mary had had so much thrown at her aside from just being shot, so they were all helping her through; sharing some of their memories of similar events. Not to scare her or give her gruesome stories, but to help her know she wasn't alone and that they would be there to help, because they had some idea what she was going through. Grace needed some support considering Owen, the man she had considered her father, had died because of her real father who she had then gone after. Once the early days had past and Mary was showing good signs of improving, emotionally Grace had fallen in a heap. But they'd been able to help and she was starting to get a handle on what had happened and working her way through the fall-out from it. Nate had been helping her in private sessions too.

Callen had more memories of his childhood, memories of his father and his family. He didn't remember the day they had been ambushed, he wasn't sure he ever would, but he did feel like he knew his family and his life quite well from before he was five.

So now, here he was, on top of the world so to speak, about to make it official with Annabel.

Callen stepped over to Grey and Hetty moved off to do whatever it was she had to do, after giving them all another once-over to ensure that everything was still in place.

Hetty had taken on the role of organiser and director for the wedding, allowing Pen to be able to concentrate on Annabel's needs rather than the rest of the plans. Hetty, Pen and Rebecca had managed to pull it off in such a short space of time. They certainly weren't disappointed with what the three of them had achieved. They definitely worked well together. It wasn't even a month since Callen had proposed. They decided to do it sooner rather than later. Both of them knew that they wanted to be together, and didn't see the point in wasting time.

The hill had posed a challenge, but Hetty and Pen had found a way around it. A set of steps had been specifically built to make it easier for everyone to get to the top, lined with lanterns to light the way should it get dark before the ceremony was over. There were a couple of tents for the bridal party to get ready in and there were chairs for those attending to sit on. They had even made sure the chairs were securely anchored to the slightly uneven ground. There were flowers attached to the chairs along the aisle, gathered from the wildflowers in the valley. There was soft music playing as well, though where the speakers were Callen wasn't sure. He suspected they were hiding in the tree somewhere so as not to detract from the setting. Nothing had been overlooked.

The reception was going to take place in Nic and Pen's cottage and backyard below, which had been decked out with fairy lights and a dance floor, tables and chairs for all the guests. It was only close family and close friends so not that many. Though perhaps close family was enough of a description. It was slightly bigger than Annabel's first wedding, and a much happier one.

"You ready for this … Brother?" Grey asked with a lopsided smile and a sparkle in his eyes. Callen knew that sparkle. Now that he knew what to look for, he was surprised that he had missed such a similarity between Grey and Annabel.

"I've been ready for a while Grey," Callen answered honestly. He'd spoken the truth with Sam. He had no cold feet. This, marrying Annabel, was exactly what he wanted. He was exactly where he wanted to be. Callen turned and looked out over the people seated who were here to witness this.

His new family: Rebecca, Mary and Grace. His old family: Gibbs, Hetty, Nate, Eric, Renko and Abby. Sam was already by his side and Kensi was with Annabel. He caught Gibbs' eye, who was sitting next to Abby. Annabel had wanted a chance to thank Abby, in person, and she felt this was the perfect opportunity. Abby had even skipped the full on dark colours for today. She was wearing a soft white dress, with hints of deep red and black in the flowers on it. Even though it wasn't her usual style, it was still very Abby.

Gibbs smiled at him and Callen could see the distinct approval in the multiple-divorcee's eyes. He knew that Gibbs felt that Annabel was the right girl for him, even if he wouldn't come out directly and say it.

Then there was Annabel's family and close friends; Marcus and his parents, Tom's parents, Shawn, Diana and baby Lilah, Cara, Ric, John and Graham.

Around him and before him was Annabel's secret. The reason she had been able to survive everything she had been through and still be the loving, protective and caring woman she was. He had discovered over the last couple of months that it was her relationships with them that had given her the support, the stability and the help she needed to get through everything yet remain who she was, even when she didn't know it herself. They had helped her to not lose sight of the good things in life, in her and in those around her. Something that, considering everything, could have easily happened. It wasn't just Grey and her parents. Tom's parents still considered her their own and had been there too, as were the rest of those sitting in front of him.

Now Callen knew she had even more people in that support network; that even though she wouldn't be returning to work, they would still be there for her, for whatever she needed. Hetty, Sam, Kensi, Nate, Eric and even Gibbs had joined that pool of resources. A pool that wasn't just there for her. They were all there for both of them now. So much support helping him make those final transformations from lone wolf to one of the pack.

The soft music changed and Callen turned his attention to where Annabel would soon appear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

"Are you decent?" came Annabel's father's cheery voice from just outside the tent.

Annabel grinned at her mother. "You can come in Dad."

Nic stepped through the door and looked at Annabel, the smile on his face one she hadn't witnessed yet. One that was special, just for today. Her first wedding hadn't actually been a completely happy affair.

"You look beautiful, my darling girl," Nic said. "Just like a bride should. Very happy, very beautiful and very much in love."

Annabel turned back to the mirror. Her father stepped up behind her, placed his hands on her shoulders and smiled at her again. "Very beautiful. You remind me of your mother."

Annabel smiled at him through the mirror. "Thanks Dad." She took a deep breath.

The dress fitted perfectly. She'd spent a delightful day with her mother looking for it. Pen had made the finishing touches and necessary alterations to it to make it perfect. It was ivory coloured, soft silk. Fitted in the bodice to just below the ribs and then it flared out softly to ankle length with the help of a stiffened underskirt (not one that made it look like she was stuffed into a large cake or balloon though). It was strapless – this was more practical than for style. Unfortunately her shoulder hadn't healed quite as well as hoped. It was still giving her some problems when she moved it certain ways, which had been quite obvious when trying on dresses. Physiotherapy would eventually fix it but for now, she needed to make certain adjustments to her movement.

There were tiny silver four-leaf clovers embroidered around the hem of the dress with diamante centres, which matched the tiny diamantes that were scattered over the bodice with tiny silver threads joining them up. Her mother had done the four-leaf clovers for her. Not just for good luck but for all four meanings of the clover; Faith, Hope, Love and Luck. It was also a little Irish touch to the dress, and something personal from Pen – as she had done with the flowers on her dress that she had worn for her birthday. Her hair was loose, curled in a few random places and held back off her face with simple elegant silver combs.

Annabel looked back at her father and the tears pushed at her eyes with the look she saw on his face but she wouldn't let them fall. Hetty wouldn't be happy if she destroyed the make-up.

Annabel tilted her head to rest against her father's cheek. She looked in the mirror and committed the picture she could see of them together into her memory. As much as she would have loved a photo like this, someone taking one would just intrude on this moment.

"I am happy," Annabel added. "This is so different from last time."

Nic turned her around and smiled as he tweaked her nose gently and Annabel couldn't help the grin that came instantly to her face. It was something he had always done when she was little. Like when he was stealing a little something off her plate or when he would leave for work early in the morning and pop into her room before he did. She loved that he still did it occasionally. She knew some people moved on completely with the relationship with their parents to one of adult friendship. But she'd never felt that need to lose that parent/child part of theirs, with both her father and her mother. They were always friends anyway so it wasn't that they hadn't grown up. It was just that this playful side had remained and it was like a caring little reminder that they would always be there for her, as they had always been from that very first moment.

"I have something for you," Nic said.

Annabel tilted her head curiously. Nic smiled. Out of his pocket he carefully pulled two hair combs, with beautiful green emeralds and diamonds on them.

"To match your ring," Nic added.

"Dad," she said, at touch breathless. "They're beautiful. Thank you."

Pen stepped up and took them from him, carefully replacing the ones already in her hair with them.

"They were your grandmother's," Nic told her. "I wanted to give them to you when you married Tom, but I didn't want them to remind you of something that wasn't happy."

"Dad, I …" She really didn't know what to say.

Nic shook his head and she stopped.

"I know you loved Tom," he said, "and I know you wanted to be his wife just as much as you do Callen's. But this time … " Nic smiled. "This time it is all happy." A couple of tears spilled from Nic's eyes and Annabel reached up and gently kissed them away.

"I understand." She did. She truly did. She knew how close her father had been with his mother. Unfortunately she hadn't had the privilege of meeting her, but she had been named after her. She knew that her grandmother had been a very happy soul, laughter and smiles filled her father's memories and, as such hers, with the stories that he had shared with them. She understood that he wanted her to have these and add more happy times to them. Not sad ones as they would have been with Tom.

Kensi, Olivia and Hetty walked through the door at that moment. Hetty scrutinised Annabel thoroughly, causing Annabel to narrowly avoid reaching up to check if she was actually crying.

Kensi looked at her with a smile. "All set?" she asked.

Annabel smiled and nodded.

Olivia and Kensi looked absolutely beautiful in the emerald green dresses they wore as her Matron of Honor and Bridesmaid. The bridal party had been chosen to reflect the closeness of the bride and groom to those who were dearest to them. Their lives had mingled, so did those they choose. Callen had chosen Sam and Grey for his Best Man and Groomsmen, whilst she had chosen Olivia and Kensi. A perfect combination of their old life and new one.

Annabel glanced at her mother, just to check that nothing else needed to be done. Pen nodded, a slight shine of tears in her eyes.

"I'll see you out there," Pen said and left with Hetty to take her place.

"Dad?" Annabel asked.

"I'm ready, my dear."

Kensi stepped outside to join Olivia and give them one last moment together.

"Annabel."

"Yes Dad?"

"I love you." Nic smiled. "You chose well in Callen."

Annabel smiled back. "Thanks Dad. That means a lot."

"Shall we?" her father asked as he held out his arm to her.

Annabel picked up the bouquet of flowers that was on the small table – a collection of her favourite wildflowers from down in the valley that had been arranged carefully by Hetty and tied with an emerald green ribbon the same colour as Kensi and Olivia's dresses.

She turned to her father and took his arm. "We shall."


	69. Chapter 69

_A/N - Part two of the wedding. Hope you enjoy._

_Thanks once again for the amazing support on this story.  
_

_Thanks to all those who have added this to alerts that I haven't been able to personally reply to.  
_

_The song that Annabel walks down the aisle to is "Because you loved me" Celine Dion (an instrumental version). I wasn't sure what to use but when I googled possible songs and then checked out the lyrics for this one, it seemed to fit everything these two had been through._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

**Chapter 69 **

_The Wedding - Part 2_

Callen smiled as Kensi winked at him on her way down the aisle to the soft instrumental music. Olivia followed her and, as they passed by Marcus, Callen glanced at him. He could see something similar in his eyes to what he was sure was in his own when he looked at Annabel. It reassured him that Kensi was in capable hands. Things seemed to be going well between the two of them at the moment and he'd kept his promise. He hadn't interfered, though he knew Sam had given Marcus a subtle but serious warning about their girl.

Callen pulled his mind and his focus off Marcus and Kensi and back to find Annabel. He saw her standing there with her father. The smile on Nic's face was huge and his breath caught when he looked at her. She looked so beautiful. Most importantly to him though, she looked happy. Her eyes were sparkling, her smile soft and their eyes locked on one another. Everything else vanished as he watched her walk slowly toward him in time to the music.

The butterflies leapt in Annabel's stomach when she saw Callen standing there under the tree, waiting for her. They got faster with every step she took that brought her closer to him. Her father was by her side, arm linked with hers. John and Walter, Tom's father, were standing next to her mother in the front row and Grey was standing up with Callen. Not that she took her eyes off Callen, she just knew they were there. She could sense their loving presence as she had always been able to. As she could Callen's now too.

The three father figures in her life. They had been there and protected her for so long in the fatherly manner that was so natural to them. There was something about each of them that she could see in Callen and she knew instinctively that he would be there and protect their child just as much as her father, Walter and John had done for her.

The butterflies weren't a bad thing. They were excited ones. She was making her way to the man she loved, the man she was about to promise everything to.

Annabel felt her father's gaze on her when they stopped just before Callen. She pulled herself away from Callen's eyes to look at him. Her father smiled at her and she returned it easily and happily. He gently kissed her cheek and stepped away to join her mother. Then she turned back to Callen, smiled and felt her heart flutter, just a little, at the look on his face.

Callen reached out and took her hand, gave it a gentle squeeze and together they turned to the celebrant.

*o*o*

"I Annabel Jane, take you G," she gave a smile at the name, knowing how important it was to him to know it really was his name, "to be my husband. With this ring and with my heart I promise to catch you when you fall, soar with you when you fly and be by your side for everything in between. I promise to protect you and to let you protect me. I promise to be more careful of that line you don't want me to cross when protecting you and those we love. I promise to love you, need you and want you by my side for as long as I have left." She kissed the ring softly before sliding it carefully onto his finger.

*o*o*

"I G, take you Annabel Jane, to be my wife. With this ring and with my heart I promise to follow my instincts when it comes to you and our life together. I promise to protect you and to let you protect me. I promise that I will always be there for you, whatever trials or happiness comes across our path. Together we can handle anything, as we already have. I promise that I will always love you, need you and want you by my side for as long as I have left." He repeated the gesture of the kiss on the ring before he carefully slid it onto her finger until it nestled perfectly against the engagement ring.

*o*o*

They weren't traditional vows. They'd written their own to suit their relationship. Annabel hadn't wanted the 'in sickness and in health part', not that she wouldn't be there for him but it brought back too many sad memories of marrying Tom. Death wasn't something they wanted in them either; both of them knowing how easily that could happen given the life that they had lived, the jobs that they had done and how very close they had come to that very thing during those first two weeks. The vows that they had written reflected the most important things they wanted the other to know.

"It is with great pleasure that now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss…."

Callen pulled Annabel into his arms and kissed her before the celebrant had even said the word. He poured everything into it, to seal those promises that he had made to her, as did she. Her body softened against his, her arms went around his neck and she responded exactly the same. She gave him everything in that kiss and he felt it.

There were whistles all around and Callen pulled back slightly reluctantly. He took a deep breath, to help him gain some control, as he looked into his new wife's eyes and smiled. He really did enjoy kissing her. Annabel smiled up at him and, instead of pulling away, she pulled him back for another kiss; just as passionate, just as filled with love and hope and promise as the first one, only slightly shorter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

After a round of congratulatory kisses and hugs for the bride and groom, Hetty ushered everyone down the steps to the cottage, giving Annabel and Callen some quiet moments together whilst she took care of the final details below.

Annabel looked up into Callen's eyes once they were alone.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"For?"

"Having this here."

Callen pulled her close and into his arms. "Didn't matter to me where it was, just as long as you were there." There was a moment's pause before he added, "Are you ready for this?"

Annabel nodded and together they moved around to the far side of the tree. Annabel slipped out the single white rose bud that had been placed in her bouquet amongst the rest of her flowers. She knelt down at the small grave stone and placed it gently in front. Her fingers tenderly traced the three letters that were there.

Zoe.

That was the other part of the reason Annabel had wanted to have it here. This was a special day and Zoe was a part of it. She'd been a part of everything that had brought them to this moment and Annabel had needed Zoe to be included in the happiness that had come from everything bad. Losing Zoe had been a part of why they were together now, as sad as that thought was. They both knew that if the bad things hadn't happened, they most likely would never have met. Neither said anything but Callen rested his hand on her shoulder, giving her what comfort and strength he could from that simple touch; because even though today was happy, one of the happiest of their lives, he knew this was still hard for her.

After a few moments, Annabel rose up and turned to face him. He gently brushed the tear off her cheek that had fallen and took her hands in his.

"Today was perfect," he told her as he lifted their entwined hands and gently placed a kiss over her rings.

Annabel smiled. "Hetty organised it, of course it was."

Callen shook his head. "That's not what I meant. Hetty may have been in charge of the organisation, but this is what we both wanted."

"I know." Annabel slipped her arms around his waist and lent her head on his shoulder. "Everyone was here that we wanted to be here, and now I have you. Forever."

"As I have you," Callen added as he tilted her head up to him and kissed her softly. "Plus one."

She grinned. "You are going to help me hide the fact that I'm not drinking right?"

"How exactly do you want me to do that again? Am I supposed to drink yours as well?" He ran his hand gently down her neck and over her bare shoulder.

"You will be rather drunk if you do that won't you?"

"I think I can manage to find a decent excuse for us not drinking."

"Which is?"

"Too much to drink and we might not remember what comes later. And that is one part of today that I definitely do not want to forget or miss." Callen's tone was low and seductive and Annabel responded to it. Her eyes darkened, her heart started to skip faster and she felt the flush of heat through her body. She was responding to him more intensely than before and she had a feeling that she had the pregnancy to thank for that.

"Perhaps we should go join the party before we decide to skip it completely."

Callen pulled her tighter against him and lowered his head to brush his lips gently across hers. "Now that does sound very appealing … Mrs Callen."

Annabel smiled. It was the first time he had called her that. They had talked about it briefly in the lead up to the wedding. He knew how important Robinson had been to her and had wondered if she wanted to keep it after they were married. But she had wanted to be Callen. It wasn't the same reason as why she had stayed Robinson after Tom had died. It was simply because he was her future and she wanted to be his in every way. Accepting his name was just a part of that, something she hadn't even needed to think about. She just knew that was what she wanted.

"It does sound extremely appealing, Mr Callen. However, there are a whole lot of people down the bottom of this hill waiting for us. People who want to share a little more of this special day with us."

Annabel brushed a soft kiss over his lips.

"Plus, if we ditch, Hetty won't be impressed," Callen added. He slipped his hand up behind her head and tilted her head back just a little, reminiscent of their first meeting.

"And she will probably hunt us down and then the whole slipping away to enjoy each other just won't work."

Annabel's voice was soft and slightly breathless when Callen placed a few lingering kisses over her neck.

"True," Callen replied as he lifted his head and looked into her eyes. She smiled and moved her head to brush her lips against his. But it wasn't enough and Callen caught her lips again and kissed her deeply.

"So let's go join the party," she said, desire heavy in her voice when he finally brought the kiss to a close. "Sooner we get there, the sooner we get to leave."

"I like your line of thinking, wife of mine." Callen stepped back from her and took her hand.

They moved away from Zoe's grave, walked to the steps and slowly made their way down to the reception. The lanterns hadn't been needed, with the day giving them a beautiful blue cloudfree sky as a backdrop. It was a very romantic and intimate setting that they saw before them. The fairy lights were already on, the white table settings and the small number of people that meant the world to them. The music and the laughter drifted up, surrounded them and made them smile. Somehow this mismatched crazy bunch of people that they both cared about, that they both considered family, were getting on well. Which was definitely a good thing because, no doubt, in the future they would be getting together often.


	70. Chapter 70

_A/N - Sorry for the long'ish delay between chapters - blaming it on the plot bunnies again. They keep wanting to write or tweak something further on in chapters which means I need to filter back through and make sure I haven't messed up! That and they don't seem to want this story to end. They have added three new chapters to it recently (including this one). I think they are procrastinating in a strange way!  
_

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_Hope you enjoy.  
_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O  
_

**Chapter 70**

_The Wedding - Part 3_**  
**

Darkness had descended, the stars were out and the food had been enjoyed when Hetty's voice came over the speakers, loud and clear. "Ladies and Gentlemen, your attention please."

The gentle hum of conversation and laughter slowly ceased and everyone turned their attention to Hetty.

Annabel glanced at Callen who was sitting next to her, a curious look on her face. Callen shrugged. He wasn't sure what was happening either.

"A wedding reception is not complete without some form of speech and toast," Hetty told them all. "Now, even though the bride and groom did not feel this was necessary, some of us felt that it was. So, please Mr Hanna. The floor is yours."

Callen groaned and Sam elbowed him as he stood up. Kensi whistled and giggled at the look on Callen and Annabel's faces.

"Thank you Hetty. Now trust me, this won't take long."

"Better not," Callen piped up. Sam looked at him and Callen grinned. "I want to dance with my wife."

"You will G. You will. So will I. Anyway," Sam turned back to the crowd. "These won't be the traditional speeches. This isn't exactly a traditional couple so they wouldn't fit, but I did want to say something."

Neither Annabel nor Callen were too worried about what Sam would say. Everyone here had some idea of the reality of the life that both Callen and Annabel lived with their chosen careers, and Callen was also certain that any speeches would have been run past Hetty just to be sure that there weren't any secrets revealed.

Sam glanced over at them and smiled. Something about that smile took the nerves away from Callen. Sam was actually being serious.

"Firstly, could the bride and groom please stand up? Just so we don't get mixed up with who I'm talking about. Because really, there are some fine looking men," (Callen swore Sam's chest puffed up proudly at that comment), "and gorgeous looking women at that table tonight."

A soft chuckle went around the gathering. Callen smiled and complied. He held his hand out to Annabel and she took it. When she stood up he pulled her back against him and slipped his arms around her waist as they both looked over at Sam.

"Much better." Sam grinned and turned back to the crowd.

"You all know that these two haven't known each other long. You all know the kind of life they live, and you have all seen clearly today that they love each very much. Whether it was love at first sight or not, I'm not sure. So far I haven't been able to get their first meeting story out of G, but considering the look on his face when I mention it, I'm assuming it was interesting and perhaps just a little steamy."

Annabel tilted her head to look at Callen. "You never told him?" she asked softly.

Callen shook his head. "Sam's too much fun to play with to spoil such an opportunity. It'll drive him nuts for a long time."

"Ahem," Sam cleared his throat at the interruption.

"Sorry Sam. Carry on," Callen replied good naturedly.

"However, I do remember my first sight of Annabel." Sam turned to look at them briefly before turning back to the gathering.

"She was standing in front of G, shirt undone, ready to shoot me. It was clear that she had no protection whatsoever. She was willing to protect him if I had been the bad guy, whatever the cost to her."

Callen tightened his arms around her. Not so much because of that particular memory but because of what she had been willing to risk for him.

"I remember thinking that was odd," Sam continued. "That G should've been the one in front. At that point though, I didn't know that she was his bodyguard. Over the next two weeks, I watched her protect and fight for him and give everything she had, physically and emotionally, to protect him and more. She never gave up, she never stopped. And I know it wasn't all simply because it was her job."

Sam turned and looked straight at her. "Thank you Annabel. For being determined and strong enough to love G." Sam grinned. "My friend's a tough guy and needed someone very special to get through his defences. He needed you and you gave him everything. Welcome to our family Annabel."

Sam raised his glass and added. "To Annabel."

Callen looked down at his wife and saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes. She looked up at him and he smiled just before he brushed a kiss across her lips. When he looked up Sam was standing next to him and Callen nodded slightly at his friend in thanks for his speech. Annabel moved forward out of Callen's arms to hug Sam. She rose up and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you Sam." Her voice was soft and filled with emotion and Callen saw the softness in Sam's look when Sam smiled at her. Sam really did consider Annabel family.

"You're welcome," Sam said.

If Callen didn't know better, he'd say that Sam was a little choked up himself.

Annabel moved to sit down but Grey stopped her. "Uh uh, little sister. Stay up. My turn now."

Grey stepped up to take the microphone from Hetty. "Now that Sam has done his thing, my turn to talk about Callen."

Annabel groaned this time.

"Am I in trouble?" Callen asked softly in her ear as he pulled her back against him again.

"No, but I might end up being. Who knows what he's cooked up with Marcus for this."

They turned their attention back to Grey.

"I knew something was up before I'd even met Callen. Annabel wouldn't answer my question about whether he was cute. She rarely avoids answering my questions."

"Because you're so persistent and won't let it go. Most times it's easier just to give in," Annabel commented, loud enough for Grey to hear. He turned to her, acknowledging her comment with a lift of his eyebrows and a smile before he continued.

"I'm still not quite sure what she was avoiding, but when I saw her next, I knew there was something about this guy. I watched him carefully over those two weeks Sam mentioned. It didn't take me that long though to figure out she loved him; a day, two at the most. Probably knew before her to be honest."

"You usually did," Nic called out from his seat.

Grey chuckled. "True Dad, very true. Anyway, I watched Callen learn to trust her. I watched him take care of her, protect her when she let him and fight for her too. I saw the anger and pain in his eyes at what had happened to her in the past and I watched the determination in him to get those responsible for hurting her. He learned about her so quickly, about what she needed and I watched him do everything he could for her. But most importantly, he stayed for her." Grey turned to look at Callen. "She needed that more than you just loving her Callen. She needed you not to run. And you didn't. Welcome to our family Callen."

Grey raised his glass. "To Callen."

There was more than one teary set of eyes after that speech. Those who knew Annabel knew just how important what Grey had said was. Callen glanced down at Annabel again. "Always," he promised her again, knowing she would understand that simple one word promise. He would always stay, he wouldn't run.

"Now," Hetty said, "I believe the groom wished to dance with his bride. If you will take to the floor, we'll get that next part of the evening started."

They moved onto the dance floor and Annabel moved willingly into his arms. The soft slow music started and they moved together, oblivious to those watching. This was a moment just for them.

"Guess the speeches weren't so bad after all," Callen murmured in her ear once the first song ended.

"They were wonderful," Annabel replied.

She looked up at him. Callen smiled then lowered his lips to her. He kissed her there on the dance floor with everyone watching. Her lips opened under his at the briefest of coaxing on his part, their tongues and lips slow danced together, just as they had before to that first song.

It was the loud clearing of a throat and the tapping on Callen's shoulder that broke them apart. Callen lifted his head and saw Nic grinning at him.

"My turn, Son," Nic said. Callen looked back at Annabel, saw the desire in her eyes, the swollen pink lips and smiled. His finger gently traced her bottom lip before he stepped back, albeit a tad reluctantly, and let Annabel move into her father's arms. His weren't empty for long. Kensi moved over to him, kissed him on the cheek and asked if it was her turn. He happily obliged.

After her father and Grey, Annabel found herself swaying quietly to the music with John. He couldn't really dance at the moment with his hip but neither of them were going to let this opportunity pass them by.

"Didn't get the chance last time," John said softly when he had taken over from Grey.

"Nope," Annabel replied. There hadn't been dancing at her first wedding. She rested her head against the front of his shoulder; not on it, he was too tall for that.

"You seem very happy. Like you've won first prize."

Annabel chuckled and glanced over at Callen who was dancing with Rebecca. "I have. Grand prize even."

"Good."

Annabel glanced up at John curiously. John grinned.

"That's the way it's meant to be," he added.

Annabel studied him for a moment. "Why did you never marry?" she asked softly.

"Who said I didn't?" The was a slight hint of pain across John's face that he quickly hid, but not quick enough. At least not from Annabel who had seen that look on her own face often after Tom had died.

"What happened?" she asked gently, knowing John wouldn't feel pushed.

John smiled softly. "She died a long time ago. Never met anyone who could make me feel that way again. Like I'd won the Grand Prize."

Annabel smiled at that. "She must have been wonderful."

"She was. You would have liked her."

"Any chance you're willing to divulge her name?"

John dropped a kiss on her head. "You already know it."

Annabel frowned. "Who?"

"Remember when we talked over what happened with The Twelve?"

Annabel nodded. She had spent some time with Hetty, Rebecca and Graham to get the same debriefing as the others once she'd returned to LA with Callen after her time here.

"You remember Britannia?"

"I remember," she said softly and held him just that little bit closer.

"She would have liked you," John said. "You remind me of her a little."

"How?"

John tilted her face up to him. "You're cheeky just like she was."

Annabel grinned. "I'm sorry I never met her."

John pulled her close and whispered, "So am I."

It was a while before Callen managed to get back to Annabel. Fathers, brothers and new family members all wanted to dance just a little with her. He wasn't short a partner either as the same applied to him. But eventually he wanted to dance with his wife again and looked around for her. He was dancing with Mary at the time and twirled them over to Sam, who had Annabel.

"Okay Sam, give me back my wife please." Sam dropped a kiss on Annabel's cheek and let her return to Callen, offering his hand to Mary.

Callen looked at Annabel and smiled gently as he pulled her in close again. "I should probably get you out of here soon. You're looking tired."

She smiled a little. "Actually, first off I need you to help me slip away to the bathroom."

"You feeling all right?" he asked.

"Just a little…" she trailed off and lifted her eyebrows so he would know what she was referring too. Morning sickness. Only it wasn't hitting her in the mornings or any predictable time for that matter. It was totally random at present.

"I can do that." Callen pulled her closer and moved them off the dance floor easily, without too much spinning. They slipped through the door and headed to the bathroom. "Do you need anything?" he asked once they were at the door.

"Yeah, something fizzy. Some lemonade or something."

Callen brushed a kiss across her forehead. "Be right back."

Annabel stepped back out of the bathroom just as he came back. Callen handed her the drink and she sipped it slowly.

"So how long before we can slip away?" Callen asked as he ran his fingers down her arm.

"Probably not that far off," she replied.

"Are you feeling better?"

Annabel nodded. "I really wish it would –"

"There you are!" Abby exclaimed excitedly behind them. "I've wanted to see you two together all day. Thank you so much for inviting me. This place is so beautiful. It's so green and so … so different and so old! Some of the places here are ancient. It's amazing. Gibbs took me to this castle the other day, and it's like almost a thousand years old. Just imagine all the stories that could be told about it. All the forensic history… Sorry I'm rambling."

Annabel laughed softly at Abby's exuberance. She stepped up to the taller, younger woman and gave her a hug. "Abby, thank you so much for everything."

Abby smiled, knowing _everything_ was a very specific _something_. "Not a problem. I know how precious things like that are." Abby's tone softened as she continued. "I have something similar from my father."

"So are you enjoying yourself Abby?" Callen asked, though it was completely obvious what the answer was.

Abby turned to Callen. "Absolutely. It so nice to be out of the office! Not to mention in another country." She turned back to Annabel. "Today was…" Abby frowned and looked strangely at Annabel. Her eyes widened. "Oh my God, you're pregnant!"

Callen moved quickly and covered Abby's mouth. Annabel's dropped open in shock.

"Abby," Callen said quietly. "Shh."

"How did … I mean what…" Annabel bit her lip and looked between Callen and Abby slightly confused.

"Abby," Callen's tone was soft and gentle. "We haven't told everyone yet."

"How did you know?" Annabel asked. Callen removed his hand from Abby's mouth.

"Your eyes," Abby said in a hushed tone. "You can read just about anything in them if you know what to look for. That and the fact that you weren't drinking, though that could have been… Anyway, this is wonderful news." Abby was almost bouncing on the spot with excitement for them.

"It's just that … " Callen glanced at Annabel, unsure how much she wanted to say. She took over.

"Abby, with everything that happened, with Zoe and in those two weeks, we..."

Abby nodded gently. "I understand. I promise I won't tell anyone." Abby sighed happily. "Guys, congratulations." Abby hugged both of them. "My lips are sealed, just as long as Gibbs does-" Abby smacked a hand over her mouth.

"Gibbs doesn't what, Abs?" came the voice of Gibbs from behind Abby.

Abby looked at Callen, pleading with her eyes. "Please. Please don't make me do this. He's the only one I can't keep anything from."

Callen looked between Abby, Gibbs and Annabel. He was quite surprised to see Annabel quietly laughing.

"Go for it," she told him. "No need to punish Abby."

Callen grinned and turned to Gibbs. Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "G?"

"You said I just needed a wife and child to complete things. Guess things are complete."

Gibbs looked slightly confused but only for a second before a sparkle lit up his eyes and a lopsided smile formed on his face. He looked at Annabel and back to Callen. "Well well, you have come a long way haven't you? Congratulations G." He focused on Callen for a moment. "You'll make a great dad."

Until that moment Callen didn't realise how much he wanted someone to say those words to him. He'd been so focused on making sure Annabel was okay that he hadn't allowed himself to think about that yet.

"Thanks Jethro. That means a lot," Callen said.

Gibbs gave him a brief hug and pat on the back before stepping over to give Annabel a kiss on the cheek. He whispered quietly in her ear. "That kid's gonna have one hell of a brave mum."

Gibbs pulled back and smiled at her. "Any chance I can get a dance with the bride before you two disappear for the next part of the evening?"

Callen chuckled. "Go for it. I haven't danced with Abby yet."

Abby's eyes lit up. "Fast one?" she asked.

"Whatever's on Abby. Let's go," Callen grinned at Annabel as he took Abby's hand. "I will see you soon."

Annabel smiled and slipped her arm into the one Gibbs offered her.

"You want fast too?" Gibbs asked.

Annabel looked up at him and shook her head. "Nope. Slow suits me right now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Callen had Annabel back in his arms for one last dance before they were about to call it a night. She had her head on his shoulder and they were just swaying gently. Callen smiled contentedly. The night had been perfect. Annabel lifted her head and smiled herself.

"I like that smile," she said.

"Good," Callen replied, "cause I think you're going to be seeing it a lot."

"I hope so. Slip away or say goodbye?" Annabel asked.

"Slip away would be nice but Hetty is beckoning us so I don't think that's an option."

Annabel looked in the direction Callen had tilted his head and saw Hetty looking at them. She wiggled her finger and pointed inside. Annabel nodded and then looked back to Callen.

"We have definitely been summoned," she agreed.

"Let's go find out what we are in trouble for," Callen said as he steered her off the dance floor.

"Trouble? I'm not in trouble. What have you done that I don't know about?"

"Nothing, just as long as she doesn't know what I have planned for later," Callen whispered in her ear. He heard the catch of her breath and felt the shiver that went through her and grinned.

They stepped through the doors and saw Hetty, who nodded in the direction of the living room before she went through to it.

"What is it Hetty?" Callen asked as they joined her.

They both were surprised to find it wasn't just Hetty. Grey, Shawn, Sam and Kensi were there as well.

"What's going on?" Annabel asked, her focus on Grey.

"A wedding present," Sam said.

"One for you both before you go, rather than when you get back," Hetty clarified.

Callen looked around at those there. He caught the conspiratorial look on their faces and turned back to his boss. "Hetty, spill," Callen ordered.

Hetty smiled. "Are you impatient to go somewhere G?" she asked innocently.

Callen smirked. "Yes, I want to spend a little time with my wife … alone."

"Very well. I'll keep it short. I'd like to introduce you to your new team member before you leave."

"What new team member?" Callen asked.

"It has taken some time but I have managed to acquire a temporary team member to help with the transition into the safer role you requested. To help ease the difficulties of not being in the field for the more dangerous missions."

"Who?" Callen asked.

"Me," Grey said.

"What?" The shocked word slipped out of Annabel's mouth before she realised she'd even thought it.

Grey smiled. "With you gone Bel, that just left Shawn and I. And Shawn…" Grey glanced at Shawn and let him take it from there.

"When Lilah was born," Shawn said, "I started to think about taking it easy. Graham offered me a position doing training and mentoring. I'm taking a few months long service and paternity leave and when I come back that's what I'll be doing." Shawn smiled gently at Annabel, obviously realising this was all going to come as a shock to her.

"You want to do that?" she asked.

Shawn nodded. "Yeah. Diana and Lilah are worth too much for me to risk not being there."

"Which just left me," Grey continued. "Not much of a team really."

"So, upon careful consideration," Hetty took over, "I approached Graham with the idea of an agent exchange. One of our up and coming OSP agents will spend a year with MI6 under Graham's guidance and Grey will spend a year with us."

Hetty focused on Callen. "You already know Grey is competent and he works extremely well with the three of you already. The four of you will be a team, partnering up as necessary; however this will give you a year to get used to not being in the field for the more dangerous missions whilst knowing that Sam and Kensi are in good hands with Grey."

Callen looked at Sam and Kensi questioningly. Not that he didn't think Grey was good but Sam and Kensi were the ones who had spent more mission orientated time with him.

Sam gave a simple nod of his head which spoke volumes to Callen.

Kensi smiled. "He's good. And hey, he let me drive. He won me over with just that." Kensi winked at him and Callen knew they were both on board with the idea. "Given that Hetty really likes him, I'm definitely good with it."

Sam chuckled. "Yeah, now we have someone to send to Hetty who won't be afraid of her when we need something."

Hetty glanced at Sam and he stopped there, though he didn't hide the grin.

"Anyway, during that year," Hetty continued, "I will look into finding a permanent team member to replace Grey when his time is up."

Annabel looked at Grey. "Are you sure about this? What about Olivia?"

Grey stepped over to Annabel and took her hands in his. "Liv was planning on resigning soon anyway, once she had finished with the task force. It fits in well with our plans Bel. We're happy about this."

"What about when you come back?" Annabel asked. She knew they wouldn't relocate permanently. London was home for them.

"It turns out Graham is interested in having me take over one day." Grey's eyes slid to Hetty, who had that all-knowing smile on her face. Grey smiled at her and then looked back to Annabel. "When I come back, he's going to slowly move me up through the ranks of management. In a few years or so, if I still want it, he'll retire and I'll take over."

Callen looked around at his team and smiled.

Annabel moved over to Grey and hugged him tight. "So you'll be around," she whispered in his ear.

"Didn't think I'd let you slip away to the other side of the world so easily did you?" Grey whispered back. Annabel looked up into his eyes.

"Thank you," she said sincerely. "Thank Liv for me too. You know how much having you there means."

"I know." Grey kissed her on the cheek and she stepped back to Callen.

"Thank you Hetty," Callen said. "Sounds like you came up with the perfect solution."

Annabel wasn't able to stop the yawn that caught her by surprise.

"So Hetty," Callen said as he pulled Annabel a little closer to his side, "any chance we can slip away? I think my wife is ready for bed."

Kensi slapped Sam hard on the arm before he'd barely gotten his mouth open. "Don't say it Sam."

"I believe you can, after the bouquet and garter have been tossed."

Callen glanced down at Annabel. "Garter? I didn't know about that."

"A girl's allowed a surprise or two isn't she?" Annabel replied with a wink.

Hetty ushered them out and called the gathering to order and they started with the single women. Hetty passed Annabel the bouquet and she turned her back and threw it over her head. Cheers went up, Sam whistled and called out, "Way to go Kenz."

Annabel turned around to see Kensi standing there looking slightly embarrassed at having caught it. Callen stepped up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist.

"So," he said quietly near her ear, letting his breath whisper down her neck, "where exactly will I find this garter?"

Annabel turned in his arms and looped hers around his neck. "Traditional place."

"And how am I supposed to get it?" Callen asked holding back the grin from his lips though there was nothing he could do about the wicked gleam in his eye.

"Hands, G. Behave. We are in public."

Hetty tapped Callen on the shoulder and he turned his head. She indicated a chair for Annabel.

Annabel sat down on the edge of the seat and Callen knelt in front of her. There were whistles and comments from a few in the crowd that brought a slight blush to Annabel's cheeks. Callen caught her gaze and held it as his hands made their way underneath the many layers of her dress. He ran his fingers slowly up her stocking-covered legs, until one of them came across the garter, almost mid-thigh. He gently ran his finger underneath it, but the other hand crept a little higher. He stopped when he came across bare skin at the top of the stocking. He hadn't been expecting that. He watched as Annabel swallowed a touch nervously and saw that her lips had dropped open just a little and her breathing was a little faster. He knew exactly what those little signs of hers meant and he smiled. His hand slid a little higher and her eyes widened just a touch.

"Another one of your surprises?" he asked softly, just for her.

"Was supposed to be," she replied.

"It was. An extremely interesting one." He watched her fight to keep her eyes open as he moved his hand and brushed against the sensitive spot between her thighs, feeling the heat and dampness that was already there. He saw her breath catch and her eyes darken with arousal and smiled again. In one quick move he had the garter off and threw it over his shoulder, not caring who caught it. It was time for him to be alone with his wife. He did turn briefly to see who had been the lucky guy, figuring Marcus, Eric or Nate would probably have ended up with it. He was shocked when he saw Gibbs looking straight at him with the garter in his hand. Callen smiled and shook his head slightly, vaguely hoping that if traditional held, wife number five would be better suited to handle the older man. He turned and picked Annabel up off the chair before she could get up and walked away to the sound of cheering and whistles. He carried her all the way to the car.

"Impatient?" Annabel asked softly in his ear before he put her down so she could get in.

Callen cupped the back of her head and kissed her deeply.

"Not impatient. If I was, we would have been gone long ago. But now," he stroked her cheek gently, "now it's just you and me."

Annabel cupped his cheek in her hand and brushed her lips over his. "One last ritual to go," she said.

"One more seal to place on this marriage," Callen agreed.


	71. Chapter 71

**WARNING - This chapter is rated M**

If you are too young, not interested or shouldn't be reading this then stop. There's nothing here that affects the rest of the story.

This chapter is the wedding night - therefore adult themes and situations ie: Sex. It's the wedding night, what else would you expect.

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_A/N - Now that the warning is over, here's the author note._

_So the plot bunnies struck and wondered if they could write this scene. So we tried and right up until I press that submit button that posts this, I'm still not entirely sure about posting it. To be honest, I'm more nervous about this than I was about my very first story. Yes, it's sex, but hopefully it is more than just that. Hopefully it is emotional and sweet and sexy, not gratuitous . At least that is what I was aiming for. It is more ... detailed... than I've ever written. It's not overly graphic in phrases or terms used, but it should be completely obvious what is happening and the picture should be reasonably well painted._

_Feedback (in forms of constructive criticism and/or praise) would be appreciated because, as previously mentioned, this is my first time writing something like this, and I would like to get better. But no flames - you have been warned so if you don't like reading sex scenes, don't keep going._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_So, now ... if you are sure you want to continue ... Enjoy.  
_

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**Chapter 71**

_The Wedding Night_**  
**

Callen walked around the car and opened the door for Annabel. She accepted his hand and he pulled her out and up to him, using the other to close and lock it. One arm slipped around her waist, the other under her knees and Callen carried her to the door of the small cottage he had rented for the night.

Annabel giggled softly and kissed his neck. "You didn't have to carry me you know. I can walk."

"I wanted to," Callen replied as he lowered her down gently until her feet touched the ground.

"Why?" she asked curiously.

Callen unlocked and opened the door before picking her up again and stepping over the threshold. He kicked the door closed behind them.

Callen looked in her eyes. "Tradition. Some of them I like. Like what's coming next," he said and caught her lips with his as he let her body slide down his. She moaned softly and her body moulded to his. Callen reluctantly pulled back from the kiss and stepped away from her to lock the door. He took her hand and led her to the bedroom, covering her eyes before he let her step through the doorway.

"Wait here," he said softly in her ear before he went to light the candles that he had already set up on the mantelpiece above the fireplace. He came back and brushed his fingers over her cheek. "You can open them now."

She did. Annabel looked around and smiled. "It's perfect G," she told him.

There was a large bed with a soft, inviting white and blue cover, and just the right number of pillows. A fireplace, ready to be lit in case the night got too cold, which she knew was possible even in September. The candle light lit up the room with a beautiful soft glow. There were two glasses and a bottle of sparkling water on the bedside table. As well as a single red rose in a delicate looking vase on the other.

"When did you do all this?" Annabel asked after she had finished checking out his handiwork and turned back to him.

"Today, when I wasn't allowed to see you. Had to do something to keep me occupied."

Not seeing the bride before the wedding was one tradition he wouldn't have minded missing. He'd had a fun day with the boys though after he'd set up the cottage. Nic had taken them to a nearby golf club. It was decidedly uneventful, which they were all appreciative of.

They'd agreed that Callen would take care of the arrangements for the wedding night and Annabel the honeymoon. He still didn't know where she was taking them yet. She had taken care of the packing for it as well, so he didn't even get a hint from that.

Annabel stepped closer to him and slipped her arms around his neck. "Thank you. Looks like you haven't forgotten anything."

"Nope." Callen reached out and tucked a wayward lock of hair behind her ear. "Even down to some clothes in the wardrobe for tomorrow."

"So we don't have to go back to the car for anything?" She trailed some light kisses along his jaw whilst her hands slipped under the jacket and pushed it off his shoulders. It fell to the floor with a soft thud they both ignored.

"Have everything we need," Callen replied with smile. She obviously wasn't tired anymore. Her fingers went to his tie and pulled it undone. It joined his jacket on the floor before she started on his shirt. He moved his hands over hers to stop her. She looked up at him.

"Slowly," Callen said. "This time nice and slow." He ran his hands over her shoulders and trailed soft kisses down her neck before he turned her around and let his fingers find the zip. She stopped him before he could start to pull it down and turned back to face him. It was his turn to look curiously at her.

Annabel smiled. "If you want slow, I suggest you let me go first."

Her fingers went back his buttons and slowly undid them, trailing her fingers down his chest in between buttons. He slipped his fingers into her hair and tilted her head up for another long kiss, stopping only when she had finished with the buttons. She undid his cuff-links and he removed the combs from her hair before running his fingers through the soft strands.

Annabel took the cuff-links and hair combs and put them on the bedside table before returning to him and making quick work of his belt before she danced her fingers lightly up his bare chest to slip around his neck, her warm soft lips trailing over the same spots that her fingers just had. She smiled at him; a tantalising, tempting smile that heated his blood and body.

"Your turn now," she whispered against his lips.

Callen smiled and kissed her enough to leave her moaning when he pulled back and turned her around. Slowly he pulled the zip down, placing a gentle kiss on each inch of soft skin as he went. He was about halfway down when he finally realised what she had meant. There was nothing underneath. His hands paused and he took a couple of steadying breaths. She was so very tempting but he wanted slow tonight. He wanted to saviour this first time as husband and wife. His hands slid up to her shoulders and pulled her gently back against his chest.

"So is this the last surprise? Or have I got more to look forward to?" He trailed open mouthed kisses down her neck and across her shoulder whilst he waited for her to answer.

It took Annabel a while to find her voice; the heat and the actions of his mouth caressing her skin took her breath away.

"Last one for tonight," she managed to finally say as her head dropped back against his shoulder. She felt him smile against her skin and then he moved away.

"Definitely better savour this one then." Callen's hands went back to the zip and, if it was at all possible, he went slower than before. When he kissed the small dip at her lower back he felt her shiver and flicked his tongue over that spot. The soft moan that was pulled from her at his action sent a hot shaft of desire throbbing through him and he had to consciously focus on keeping things slow. Callen moved back up and slowly pushed the dress down over her hips whilst his lips continued to tease the skin on her shoulders and neck.

Annabel's breathing was shallow and fast, her heart was beating hard inside her chest and her mind was spinning with the sensations Callen was creating in her. When her dress fell in a heap at her feet and his hands ran up her side so lightly that she could barely feel them, she held her breath, waiting. She moaned in frustration when his hands stayed on her sides. It was all too much, she needed him desperately. She turned in his arms and pressed her body against his, her mouth taking his in a searing kiss.

"Please," she begged when she pulled back, her eyes still closed. "I need you." Her body was on fire and she didn't think she could take much more.

Callen stroked her cheek gently and cupped her face. "Look at me," he urged her. "Open your eyes."

She did and he smiled at her. "You and me tonight. Our first time. Trust me, we'll get there, I promise. Just nice and slow."

Annabel shook her head a little. He'd been tempting her since she first saw him waiting under the tree. He'd kicked it up a notch with the kisses once they were alone after the ceremony. The garter removal had been the last straw when his touch had lit a fire in her so strong that she had needed him right then. She'd already had to wait too long. "Slow is over-rated," she whispered and slid her hands down his side, over his hard stomach muscles and between them to find the button on his pants. He pulled her closer, trapping her hands so she couldn't continue.

"No," Callen whispered back, shaking his head. "Not over-rated. Neither are names."

Annabel stopped at the emotion she could hear in his voice and looked deep into his blue eyes. She could see so much love in them. He had come so far in these couple of months, from hiding what emotions he felt, to allowing her to see so clearly whatever he was feeling. The fact that he had let her so thoroughly in was the most precious gift he could have given her, even more than their child. He'd given himself to her completely. The look on his face and in his eyes took her breath away and she felt more love radiating from him than she had ever felt in her life.

"Thought you said they were," she said softly, still focused on his eyes.

Callen smiled. Names had never been overly important to him. A cover, a necessary tool of the trade, even his own name hadn't felt like his until recently. His fingers danced lightly up her back as he answered softly. "They were, until I found someone who wanted to share mine." He stepped back enough so he could drop down and kiss her stomach. His next words were whispered against her sensitive stomach, right above where their child was growing. "Until we created someone who will share it with us."

There were tears in Annabel's eyes and she didn't know what to say, even if she'd been able to get anything out. But Callen didn't need her to say anything. His hands, mouth and tongue mapped out a path slowly up her body, stopping her from thinking as they touched and teased and stroked the fire in her again. His lips trailed up her neck to her ear. "Until you and our child made your way into my heart." He moved so he could look into her eyes, saw that they were shining with unshed tears, but sparkling with love, desire and happiness. "I love you," he whispered before capturing her lips with his in a soft, gentle yet passionate kiss.

Without breaking the kiss Callen picked Annabel up and stepped over to the bed, laying her down carefully with her head on the pillows. Only then did he stop the kiss. He nudged off his shoes before trailing his fingers down her legs to her feet and removing hers too before he joined her on the bed. His fingers moved tenderly across her stomach, slid over her hips and the dip of her waist then continued slowly up.

Annabel closed her eyes and let herself focus solely on his touch and the sensations from what his fingers were doing; the warmth of them and the gentleness of their. She jumped a little when his lips found one hardened peak and his fingers brushed over the other before focusing intently on it. She lost track of everything except the desire and excitement that he was arousing in her.

Callen tuned in to every movement, every sound and every breath that she made and played her body like an expert musician played their favoured instrument; bringing the most delight he could with every touch. He read her easily. She was so open to him, so giving and so responsive.

Annabel felt her body moving closer to the edge; so close to that shattering, delightful edge and she took a deep breath, gaining just enough control to stop him, flip over and straddle him.

"If you want slow, then I need a turn."

Callen grinned. It was a slightly victorious one, considering she seemed to be willing to go slow now. "I'm all yours."

Annabel smiled; a delightfully wicked smiled. "That you are," she told him as she lowered her head to his neck. "That you definitely are," she repeated softly just before her teeth nipped at the sensitive area just below his ear. She trailed kisses down his neck, along his jaw and across his shoulders.

Callen watched her as she placed kisses over his chest, noticed she paid extra attention to his scars. His eyes closed briefly when her tongue flicked over his nipples and she gently grazed them with her teeth. Her lips were warm and soft. Her kisses were sometimes light and barely felt, sometimes lingering and sometimes open-mouthed. They were always gentle but they also left a trail of fire on his skin that lasted long after she had moved to the next spot. It was driving him higher and closer to the edge. Her body moved lower and brushed against his hard arousal. He closed his eyes whilst his hands clenched in the covers in a desperate attempt not let go of what little control he had left.

Annabel's hands were swift and took care of the button and zip on his pants before she gently eased them off along with his socks, leaving him clad only in his briefs, which certainly left no doubt as to her effect on him. She moved to settle intimately over him, her hips rocking slightly and he groaned. Callen forced his mind to focus on his plans, not solely on what she was making him feel. She leant down and her breasts pressed softly against his chest as her lips brushed against his. He opened his eyes and looked straight into hers.

"I love you, too," she whispered before her lips touched his again. Her tongue slid across his lower lip asking for entrance and he opened eagerly for her. Tongues danced together in a rhythm older than time, perfectly matched to one another. Callen ran his hands up her back, down her sides and up again, slipping between them to cup her breasts. He flicked his thumbs over her nipples. She moaned into his mouth at that touch and deepened the kiss. Her hips started to move against his and he knew he had to take control back. Callen flipped her over and stopped the kiss, along with her tempting movements.

Annabel's head dropped back, exposing her neck which he took full advantage of. She sighed and he felt the vibrations of the moan that was mingled with it under his lips.

"You are serious about slow aren't you?" she said.

Callen moved down her body slowly and his hands slipped under the band of her panties. Inch by inch he moved them down. "Very," he agreed. Her hips lifted to help him and he dropped the panties on the floor before he ran his fingers back up her stocking covered legs. He played with the top of them and, just as he had earlier in the evening, he went a little higher.

"G," Annabel begged. Her eyes were closed and her body was trying to seek out his touch of its own accord. "Please." His hand moved back down and she whimpered.

"Soon," Callen promised her as he carefully removed the stockings from her legs. This time, as he moved slowly up her body, his lips and tongue trailed along her legs. He kissed the sensitive spot on the inside of her knees and then continued up along the even more sensitive area of her inner thighs.

When he reached the top of her legs, he paused for a moment before his fingers cupped her heat and slipped inside her. Annabel whimpered and arched into his hand as he stroked, teased and brought her so close to a climax more shattering that she could remember having. She cried out his name when he gave her the most intimate kiss of all, but he stopped before she could crash over that edge.

Callen moved up quickly and caught her mouth with his in a kiss that tasted of her in more ways than one. At taste that he found incredibly intoxicating and he knew that he was so close to throwing the whole go slow thing out the window. When he lifted his head and looked into her eyes, they were filled with so much more desire and passion than he had ever seen. A slow smile spread across his face as that look in her eyes gave him more control. As desperately as he was sure she wanted this to go faster (there was a part of him that did too), Callen could see that it would be worth it for them both if he could continue with slow. This night would most definitely be unforgettable.

Callen moved off her and stood up. His hands went to the waistband of his boxers, but stopped when she shook her head.

"My turn," she said as she rose up off the bed and stood next to him. Her soft fingers replaced his and she slowly lowered them. She placed random kisses on his chest and legs as she did and when they had fallen to the floor he stepped out of them. She didn't stand up as expected but wrapped her fingers around him and then he felt her lips caress him. His eyes closed as a wave of desire and need crashed over him, one that was so strong he felt like he was about to collapse and almost came then and there in her hands. His fingers dug into her shoulders in an effort to hold on to that last thread of control. She finally stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her body flush against his; her softness to his hardness – a perfect fit. In a wickedly low and seductive voice she whispered in his ear, "Are you sure slow isn't over-rated?"

Callen opened his eyes and looked at her. He smiled slowly; a decidedly wicked and lopsided one of his own. She was playing with him, trying to break him. He had to give her credit, she was exceptional at it, and she probably would have succeeded if she hadn't said anything. But not now. Now, it was his turn to play her again.

Callen picked her up and laid her back down on the bed, lowering himself down next to her. He leant over and kissed her. His hands were ready and caught hers as she went to return them around his neck, as he knew she would. He pinned her hands above her head and his smiled widened at the look of shock on her face.

Annabel's breath caught at that smile and the look in his eyes. Her tempting of him had definitely backfired.

"Definitely not over-rated," Callen murmured. "We're just getting started."

Annabel felt her body go up in flames, felt her blood sing with desire and a desperate need for him, as Callen leisurely raked his gaze over her naked body. He didn't touch her, just looked for who knew how long; time wasn't something she could place at that point. She was too caught up in the moment with him. Yet even though Callen didn't touch her except where he was holding her hands captive, she could feel him; feel his gaze caressing her almost as if it were his hands, turning up the heat even more until every nerve ending was crying out to really feel his touch. She knew he knew it, but he didn't give in. As promised, he took it slow. It was the most exquisite yet tortuous experience she'd ever had. He continued to tease her body with just his eyes and a look that took her breath away. A look that made her heart race yet made her feel so safe, loved and cherished all at once.

Right before Callen reached out to touch her he moved close to her ear and he whispered her name, just as he had on her birthday. And, with her body temperature ramped up higher, he finally touched her, teased her and kissed her, whilst still keeping her hands trapped above her so she couldn't do anything to break his control and tempt him to come to her, to join with her and seal their vows in the most intimate way.

"G." The name came so softly and so desperately from her lips and Callen knew the time was finally here. He let go of her hands and moved above her, his hands holding his weight off her.

Annabel's legs wrapped around him and, as he slowly merged their bodies together, her slick heat surrounding him, he watched her eyes. He saw the love, need and desire that was all for him, all for them together and his heart grew so much with the love he felt for her he thought it would burst out of his chest. He started to move slowly and she lifted her hips and took him deeper. She pulled his head to her and kissed him; their tongues mimicking their bodies and dancing together in a mating of body, heart and soul and they soared over that climatic edge together.

When their breathing settled enough to be able to speak, Callen lifted his head from where it had been resting and gently nuzzling her neck. He looked down at her and smiled at the totally satisfied expression on her face.

"So," he stroked her cheek gently, "still think slow is over-rated?"

It took Annabel a few moments to come up with an appropriate comment to that. As much as she wanted to she didn't think she could describe in words what had happened between them, so she responded to the teasing instead.

"I think I might be warming up to the idea. Might need to try that again sometime and see if it was just a fluke."

Callen chuckled softly. "I think I can manage. We've got a couple of weeks to ourselves coming up. I'll see if I can satisfy your curiosity."

Annabel smiled. "I don't think you're going to have any problems in the satisfaction department."

Callen pushed up off her so he could move away but she moaned a little in disappointment and he stopped. He leant down and brushed a kiss across her lips. "I'll squash you if I don't move."

She shook her head. "Not squashing me. I like you here."

Callen kissed her again, slowly this time. He lifted his head and smiled down at her. "And I like being here. I'll be right back. Just going to take care of those candles before we sleep."

He was quick. When he slipped back into bed he pulled the covers up over them. Annabel tucked into him, her head on his shoulder, a leg across his and Callen wrapped his arms around her.

"Goodnight," she said softly. "I love you."

Callen kissed the top of her head. "I love you too, Mrs Callen."

Both of them closed their eyes and easily fell into a contented, satisfied sleep. When they woke the next morning, neither had moved; both having found that the most peaceful place to sleep was wrapped close together – safe and warm and loved.


	72. Chapter 72

_A/N - Hi. Sorry, feels like it's been ages since I posted the Wedding Night - thanks so much to those who reviewed. It meant a lot getting the feedback on a chapter that I was so unsure of._

_Hope you enjoy the honeymoon - and no, it's not detailed like the wedding night! ;-) Not M rated here._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

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_

**Chapter 72**

They spent their honeymoon in Hawaii - under a fresh alias just to be safe. Marcus had a private house right on the beach, with its own swimming pool, Annabel had organised to borrow. The security around the property gave them guaranteed privacy as once they arrived they changed the codes on the gates and the alarms. They reset them before they left. Marcus' housekeeper had already organised a supply of food so they didn't need to go shopping for anything more than essentials as they were used up.

They walked on the beach in the early hours of the morning, just after the sun rose, before anyone else was out. They spent their days relaxing and doing whatever it was they felt like. They swam in the pool more often than the ocean which invariably led to other activities that were even more enjoyable. The pool also came in handy for Annabel's physiotherapy on her shoulder. Gentle swimming and the weight-bearing exercises she was able to do, with the support of the water, helped to improve the niggly issues she'd been having.

They ventured out occasionally for some sightseeing in the less known tourist spots, or the occasional dinner but they spent most of their time enjoying that quiet, low-key kind of life Callen had wanted after everything had gone crazy; just some time to be themselves and get to know each other a little better.

The biggest and most important event of the honeymoon though was toward the end of the first week. They had an appointment for another ultrasound at a private clinic. A scan that made the second week of the honeymoon even better. For the stage the pregnancy was at, all signs were good. They both knew it wasn't a complete 100% 'you are in the clear' verdict, but it was enough to ease the worry.

After two weeks though, it was time to head back to LA. To settle into the new life that they were building.

Their first stop was to see Sam. Callen had been waiting for this moment for weeks and now they had the good news, he really wanted to share the fact that he was going to be a dad with Sam.

"This time you _are_ doing it on your own, G." Annabel brought the car to a stop outside Sam's place. She turned and looked at him, waited patiently for him to get out. Her seat belt stayed clipped up.

"I take it you aren't planning on getting out of the car," Callen said. Now he understood why she had insisted on driving from the airport. It had nothing to do with wanting to get used to driving on the right-hand side of the road.

"Nope. Go, tell him, have fun. I'll see you in half an hour."

There was a park nearby that she was going to relax under a tree with a book whilst she gave the guys some time.

Callen reached for her hand. "Don't go. I promise I'll go in and tell him, but wait here. Sam's gonna be thrilled and he'll want to see you."

He could tell she was weakening. "Please," he added quietly, his breath brushing across her fingers as he placed a gentle kiss on them.

Annabel rolled her eyes and Callen knew he'd won. He grinned.

"Go," she told him. "I'll wait."

"Won't be long." Callen let go of her hand and got out of the car. He walked up the path and knocked on Sam's door. It didn't take Sam long to answer. He had a towel hanging around his neck and looked like he'd been working out.

"G!" Sam was surprised. "Weren't expecting to see you until tomorrow."

Sam stepped back and let Callen in. "Wanted to talk to you before then."

Sam threw his towel through the door into the laundry and went to the kitchen for some water. Callen refused the offer for some for himself.

"What do you want to talk about? You know Grey is working out really well," Sam told him. A twitch of Sam's lips and a lightening of his expression gave away the teasing that followed. "You could take some more time off if you want."

Callen was pleased to hear that Grey was working out well, though he didn't expect anything else considering what they'd been through.

"Glad to hear you didn't miss me. And no, not about that." Callen turned and looked at Sam. He didn't entirely know how to bring this up so he figured he'd just dive right in.

"Annabel's pregnant."

Sam almost dropped the glass of water he had in his hand.

"She's preg … You're gonna be a dad?" Sam managed to get out.

"Which would make you about to be an uncle again," Callen said with a smirk.

And there was the look; the smile and the sparkle that Sam just couldn't hide.

"Really? You sure?"

"Of course," Callen replied. Unexpectedly Sam pulled Callen into a hug and Callen couldn't help but chuckle over the exuberance of his partner.

"When?" Sam asked

"Late March," Callen replied.

Sam frowned and Callen could see the mental calculations going on in Sam's head.

"Yes, Sam. It happened early on. When we came back after finding out Mitch was the one following us."

"When she was upset?"

Callen nodded.

"You okay with this?" Sam asked after a moment of consideration.

Callen smiled. "Definitely okay with this."

"And is everything all right?" Sam asked concerned.

"So far," Callen assured him. "We had a scan last week and at that point everything was looking good. Another month or so before we'll be able to know for sure."

Sam looked behind him. "Where is she?"

"She's waiting in the car. Wanted me to do this on my own this time."

Sam moved quickly and Callen followed but waited in the doorway. He watched Sam hurry to the car and open the door before Annabel had a chance to. She got out and Sam pulled her in for a bear hug, lifted her off her feet and spun her around. Callen could still see the smile on Sam's face. It wouldn't take much for word to get around the office that Sam Hanna was about to get a new niece or nephew.

Callen started to walk down the path, just in case he needed to rescue the mother of his child from Sam's hug.

o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Next stop was a family lunch. Rebecca had invited them to stop by and have a late lunch with her, Mary and Grace when they got back. In theory, it was to save them from having to shop after their flight but they all knew the reality was they were making the most of having each other back in their lives.

Callen and Annabel walked into living room and Grace almost knocked Callen over when she rushed up to hug him.

"Hi!"

Her reaction made Callen smile. "Do I take it you missed me, or is it that you are in trouble and trying to figure out if your uncle can get you out of it?"

Grace playfully slapped his shoulder, before hugging Annabel. "I'm more than capable of getting out of trouble."

Callen raised his eyebrows.

Grace rolled her eyes. "Fine, some trouble I have needed you for but generally my kind of trouble is just fun trouble."

Rebecca and Mary laughed and Callen had the distinct impression that his niece had always been a handful.

Callen looked Mary over and was pleased to see that she was looking much better than before he'd left. It was amazing what a couple of weeks could do regarding physical recovery.

Callen took the tray of meat from Rebecca and stepped out onto the deck. BBQ was the order of the day and in the traditional role as man of the family, he got to cook. There was quiet chatter amongst the new women in his life as he did and he enjoyed listening to it. Eventually Mary and Annabel came to join him. Mary threw some chopped onions on the BBQ, the smell wafting around them. Callen heard a noise from Annabel and turned to catch sight of the back of her almost running through the doors. He made a move to go after her, but Rebecca caught his eye.

"I'll go," she said and started following Annabel.

Callen stayed where he was. From the look in Rebecca's eyes, he had a feeling their news had just been revealed.

Rebecca got a glass of water and some dry saltine crackers before she followed Annabel to the bathroom. She knocked gently on the door after listening for a moment and not hearing anything.

"Come in," Annabel said quietly from her position sitting on the floor.

She looked up as the door opened expecting to see Callen, only to find Rebecca stepping through the door instead.

Rebecca smiled and closed the door behind her. She handed the crackers and water to Annabel and knelt down in front. "I always found these helped. I'd keep a box of them in my bag."

Annabel took a small sip and nibble. "Did G tell you?" she asked.

Rebecca shook her head. "No. I just realised when you went running to the bathroom and I smelt the onions." She smiled gently. "When I was pregnant with G, I wasn't sick at all … until I smelt onions cooking. That was the only thing that did it for me. Pretty rough when I ended up craving them. With the girls, it was mostly mornings with the odd random moment thrown in for good measure."

"We were going to tell you today. We just waited until we knew things were going well."

"Everything that happened has made you worried. I understand. You know what was going on when I fell pregnant with G. I remember I didn't want to get attached to him until I was sure everything was all right. Though that didn't happen." Rebecca rolled her eyes a little. "I kept telling myself to wait until the scan but I knew how badly I had failed at that when we were waiting for the results and I was terrified that something was wrong. My heart was literally aching at that thought. I already loved him."

Rebecca stood up and held out her hand to Annabel. She helped her up and gave her a hug. "Congratulations Sweetheart. I'm sure things will be fine."

Annabel smiled and stepped back. "So, is it safe for me to go out yet?" she asked.

"Give me a minute," Rebecca said. "I'll get rid of the onions for you."

Annabel leant back against the wall and nibbled on the rest of the crackers whilst she waited. Callen was the one who came back to her.

"So, onions?" he asked.

"Apparently. According to your mum though, it's all your fault. She had the same thing with you."

"My fault huh?" Callen stepped close and his hand drifted to her still flat stomach. "I think I can quite happily accept responsibility for the onion situation, though the pregnancy is definitely shared."

Annabel leant into his embrace and he wrapped her arms around him. "Definitely," she agreed. "Wouldn't have wanted to miss out on that part."

Callen chuckled. "Let's go. The offending food has been removed, though we will have to explain to Grace why her favourite burger topping is no longer on the menu."

They went out to join the others. Mary and Grace looked at them inquisitively. Callen glanced at Annabel. She smiled and her look told him this was all his.

Callen turned back to his sister and niece. "Annabel's pregnant." He figured it worked well enough with Sam, he didn't really need to try and do anything fancy.

Grace whooped in delight and came over to them quickly, hugging Callen and then Annabel.

"Does this mean I'll get to babysit?" she asked.

Callen raised his eyebrows. "That depends."

"On?" Grace queried.

"Whether or not your mother tells me that it's safe to leave you alone with a young impressionable child."

Callen looked over to Mary who smiled at them. "She's good. Just might not want to let her take a teenage daughter shopping though. Your credit card might not survive the workout."

Callen noticed the sadness behind Mary's smile. She moved out to the deck, under the guise of checking the food. Callen looked at Annabel and knew she had picked up on it as well. Callen followed Mary outside.

"Mary?"

"I'm sorry," Mary said. "I didn't mean to –"

Callen pulled her into his arms. He could hear the pain in her voice. "Tell me," he encouraged gently.

"Owen and I never had any children of our own. He loved Grace as if she was his. I never doubted his love for her, but he couldn't have children. I never really cared about that until now. He's gone G and I don't have anything left of him. I'm sorry. Believe or not, I'm really happy for you and Annabel."

"It's okay Mary," Annabel said, joining them. "I understand."

Mary lifted her head and looked at Annabel.

"G, can we have some time please?" Annabel asked.

Callen looked at his wife and realised where this conversation was going. He nodded and stepped away from Mary. He dropped a light kiss on Annabel's cheek and whispered, "Come get me if you need me." Then he left the two women alone.

Five minutes later they joined the rest of them and Annabel smiled. He could see the small shimmer of tears in her eyes and moved closer, slipping an arm around her.

"You okay?" he asked softly.

"We both are," Annabel said, resting her head on his shoulder. "She'll be fine. It's just hard."

He held her just a little bit tighter and glanced around the room at the women in his life. He realised that they had all dealt with or were dealing with the dramatic loss of a man they loved. As much as that saddened him to think they had all been through that, it encouraged him that they would all be able to help each other through it.

"Let's eat. I'm starving," Grace said, breaking the contemplative mood that had fallen over the room.

A light chuckle went around and they moved to the table.

o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Callen and Annabel dropped by Hetty's house later that afternoon after lunch.

Hetty ushered them through to the sitting room and disappeared quickly to brew some tea. When she returned she also brought a small present which she handed to Callen.

"What's this Hetty?" Callen asked whilst Annabel slowly sipped the mint tea Hetty had prepared.

"Open and see."

Callen did. And was shocked. Inside the wrapping paper was a soft white baby blanket with yellow, green, pink and blue bunnies on it.

Annabel narrowly avoiding spitting out the tea in shock when Callen held it up. Neither knew what to say.

"Really G. Did you think I wouldn't notice?" Hetty said with a grin.

"How Hetty?" Annabel asked. "What gave it away?" Callen handed her the blanket and she rubbed her fingers over the soft material. It was perfect.

"Many things."

"Like?" Callen prompted.

"Well, there was the fact that you were looking for and put in an offer on a house, not just an apartment and that the ones you were looking at were in safe and family orientated neighbourhoods. Then of course there was the slight change in how protective you were of Annabel. You started standing a little closer to her and whenever your arms were around her they rested lower on her stomach than normal. Add to that you weren't drinking at the wedding, Annabel has been looking a touch extra beautiful, most likely the typical pregnancy glow. Then Grey jumped instantly at the chance of coming to LA for a year, without needing time to ask Olivia and the alias that Annabel used for the honeymoon popped up on the monitoring I have been doing of the two of you to ensure your safety at a private obstetrician in Hawaii."

Callen should have known Hetty would still be watching over him.

"You are observant aren't you?" Annabel noted.

"Yes. And if all that hadn't been enough, I saw Sam this afternoon."

Callen chuckled. "The 'I'm going to be an uncle' glow right?"

Hetty smiled at them. "Yes. Congratulations."

"Thanks Hetty. Do I take it that means Eric knows too?" Callen asked.

"Yes, he does and as hard as it has been for him, he has managed not to say anything to anyone."

Hetty sipped her tea. She put her cup down and handed Annabel a small container. "Some more of the tea. Mint tea is reputed to help nausea."

Annabel smiled. "Thank you. I'm sure it will come in handy."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Callen closed the door behind them when they arrived at his small apartment. It was still about a month before they'd be able to move into the two-storey house they had purchased just before they'd headed to Ireland for the wedding.

Callen pulled Annabel back into his arms and nuzzled at her neck. He felt her relax back into him.

"You know there was one sign Hetty didn't find," Callen whispered in her ear.

"What would that be?" Annabel asked a touch breathlessly.

"You smell better," Callen replied and placed some gentle kisses along her neck and breathed in the scent that sent desire flaring through his body.

"Perfume," Annabel replied softly.

"You're not wearing any," Callen corrected. Annabel dropped her head back against his shoulder.

"Remember how you said you would take care of my cravings?"

"Having one are you?" She hadn't had too many and they were usually easy to fulfil, though he had to admit he wasn't fussed on the timing of this one. He had things he wanted to do with her that didn't involve trying to find something odd at the shops.

"A very specific one," Annabel told him.

"What do I need to get?" Callen asked as he turned her around. Her hands went to the bottom of his shirt and whipped it up and off him before he could blink.

"You," she said before sealing his mouth with hers as her fingers started to work on the fastenings of his pants; pants that were getting tight rather quickly.

When she broke off the kiss for some air, Callen removed her shirt just as quickly. This was one craving he was happy for her to have after all.

"And G," she said.

Callen looked her in the eye and waited. She smiled; a seductive sparkle in her eyes.

"Not slow. Definitely not craving slow."

And being the dutiful, attentive and well-behaved husband, Callen happily and thoroughly fulfilled his wife's craving … as well as his own.


	73. Chapter 73

_A/N - Happy Easter. Thanks for the reviews for last chapter. I know I didn't go into Kensi's reaction to the baby, but I just couldn't figure it out. However for those Kensi/Marcus fans, there is definitely some Kensi Marcus time coming over the next few chapters. Enjoy.  
_

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o  
_

**Chapter 73 **

Kensi Blye was feeling something rare but she liked it. Though whether rare was the right word these days she wasn't sure. Rare had perhaps changed to normal in this instance.

Her body was still slightly humming, satisfied and relaxed. She was content. She was happy. She was herself. And it was because of him.

The man lying beside her. The man whose warm, naked body she was snuggled into right now. The man who was holding her close as he slept.

Marcus.

And the amazing thing that she still can't get over after all this time – She doesn't want to run. She doesn't feel the need to find a way to get him out of her life.

Kensi snuggled a little closer. Her hand rested on his chest and she felt his heart thumping steadily under it. She smiled. Marcus hadn't let her down. She'd taken Callen's advice and given Marcus a chance. And she didn't regret one moment of the last eight, almost nine months. Not from that first date, or second depending on whose explanation was actually correct, to this very moment.

Kensi had been as open and honest with Marcus as she could. Hetty had even given her a degree of freedom with regards to her job. It helped that Hetty knew Marcus and trusted him so she allowed Kensi to talk to him about it, but not too detailed. It had been a hard transition but he had been patient as she slowly learnt to open up to him. She'd been fighting against the Kensi she'd made herself into with the way she had lived her life for so long. To open up to someone was difficult, probably the hardest thing she'd done and considering her job, that was saying something.

Date Number 4 had happened that first night he had arrived in LA, after Sam's warning. Kensi had lost track of how many dates they'd been on since then. Actually, she'd stopped counting once they got into double digits. It had taken Marcus four weeks though before he had agreed to stay with her rather than in a hotel; the weekend after the wedding. His contract was in Silicon Valley so he commuted back to LA on the weekends to spend it with her. She'd fought hard to keep the weekends free for them. Thankfully, Hetty was on her side and had kept the weekend call-outs to a minimum during those early days. It helped that Callen wasn't actively on duty during that time and Hetty had decided to update their skills with some training and give the team a little time to recover after their recent escapades.

Four weeks before he stayed with her.

Four weeks before they finally gave in to the heat and physical attraction that was between the two of them and ended up in bed together – not sleeping.

Things had changed after the wedding in Ireland. It was like the wedding had signalled more than just Annabel and Callen getting married. It was a turning point for the entire family that had been forged in the fire of those two weeks. The reception had gone on long after Callen and Annabel had left. The families had mingled and gotten to know one another over the preceding few days and they had gotten on well. It probably helped that all of them were experienced in the kind of lives each other lived, either by having lived it themselves or supported someone who had.

Grey had started with the team a week after the wedding and, as predicted, they'd fitted together easily. They'd missed Callen whilst he'd been on his honeymoon but Grey had brought enough skills that they hadn't been disadvantaged. When Callen had returned to the team leader position it had been as if they had been working together for years. Grey had no trouble taking orders, no trouble adding his experience to the mix or his opinion. He was also very diplomatic if he didn't agree with something. Kensi did wonder if that diplomacy was natural or had something to do with having shared leadership with his sister and, as such, still had experience at being both leader and sub-ordinate – or just that he had developed an enormous amount of tact so he didn't get on the wrong side of his sibling.

Marcus' breathing was slow and even, a sign he was asleep. After all this time Kensi knew how his breathing sounded when he slept, when he was awake but resting and when he was thinking interesting thoughts.

Kensi smiled softly and slipped out of his arms, a tad reluctantly. She needed a drink. She pulled on her robe and moved quietly to the kitchen so as not to disturb him. It was only 9.30pm but Marcus had mentioned he'd had a rough week. His contract had gone on longer than he had originally thought, not that either of them minded because they didn't want to think about what would happen when he had to return to the UK. Except this week had been the wrap-up week and he'd spent long hours handing everything over and making sure everyone knew what they needed to know.

Kensi let out a soft sigh and the smile dropped from her face as she finished her drink and stared out her window at the moon and stars. She wasn't sure where things would go now. His work here was over. She didn't want this to end, but her life and job was here and his business was based in the UK. She didn't know what was going to happen and she was honestly afraid to ask.

Kensi heard the soft footfall of steps coming up behind her and the smile reappeared on her face. Marcus' arms slipped around her waist and pulled her back up against him. Kensi could feel the heat from his naked body seep through her thin robe all the way from her shoulders down to the backs of her legs as he held her against him. It was very distracting. His warm breath drifted across the top of her head as he dropped a light kiss on it.

"Missed you," Marcus said softly in that deep gentle voice of his.

"You were asleep, how could you miss me?" Kensi teased.

"Easy. I know when you aren't with me, asleep or not."

And he really knew what to say to melt a girl's heart and turn her to mush.

Marcus turned her around and looked down at her, his expression serious.

"Kensi," he brought his hand up to her face and brushed a thumb over her lips, cupped her chin and looked deep into her eyes. The look made Kensi's breath catch in her throat, it was that intense. "I love you. Marry me?"

Kensi's eyes went wide. "What?"

Where had that come from? She didn't know what she was. Stunned. Freaked out. Surprised. Terrified. All of those plus something else she wasn't sure she wanted to name.

"I'm sorry. That wasn't the way I had planned to ask you. I just … "

Marcus seemed at a loss for words which added to Kensi's confusion. He was never lost for words. Her heart was racing and she couldn't seem to form any coherent thoughts.

"I'm not sure what is going to happen with work," Marcus finally said, "I haven't had a chance to figure that out but I know I want you in my life. No matter what happens with everything else. I love you. Please, will you marry me Kensi?"

Kensi's heart skipped a beat and she started to panic. Her mind was whirling so fast. She pulled away from him. She needed space to figure this out.

"Kensi?" Marcus stayed where he was as she stepped away. She looked at him, could see how confused he was and for a brief moment the only thing she wanted to say to him was yes –not because he was confused but simply because she wanted to. And that terrified her even more.

"Why? Why spoil this? It works. We work." The words tumbled out, bypassing her brain.

"You think marriage would spoil what we have?" Marcus asked. Kensi could tell that she had said the wrong thing. He was tense and his tone held a touch of anger to it.

"It's not that. But why mess with a good thing." Kensi was floundering and she didn't like it. She didn't know what to say to him right now.

"A good thing? Here I was thinking this was a great thing." Marcus stepped past her to the bedroom. She followed, trying to figure out how to fix it. She instinctively knew that saying yes right now wouldn't help at all.

Marcus started to get dressed, pulling his clothes on rapidly and harshly, not even taking the time to button his shirt.

"Marcus," Kensi started.

"Don't." Marcus turned and held up his hand to stop her. "You've made it clear you aren't interested in my offer."

"It's not that…"

Marcus brushed past her and walked out of the room. She followed.

"Marcus wait please," Kensi pleaded with him.

Marcus spun around. "What do you want to say Kensi? That I'm good enough to sleep with? Pamper you? Be there for you, but I'm not good enough to marry. You're happy to let me spend my money on you but I'm not good enough that you think you won't want anyone else to fill that role at some point. You don't need to say it Kensi. It was written all over you face. Well I'm sorry. But that's just not me. I'm either in or out - fully. And you've just told me which it is."

With that Marcus turned and stormed out of her flat, leaving Kensi shaken and the tears started falling down her face the moment the door slammed behind him.

What had she done? None of what he'd said was true. She did want him in her life. Did want him to be there for her, fully in. But marriage? It wasn't in her.

_Are you sure Kenz?_

She heard Callen's voice in her head. They were the same words he'd said to her during the conversation she'd had with him, before Marcus had arrived in LA. How she didn't really know what she was like in a relationship, didn't necessarily know what was her. Maybe marriage was in her. Callen had changed. He was married, happily, baby on the way.

She'd changed. But could she do that too? Could she commit to a life with someone, a life that would last until the end?

Kensi took a few deep breaths and brushed the tears away. She went back to her bedroom and glanced at the bed briefly but couldn't bring herself to get back in it. That was their bed now, hers and Marcus' bed. Even if he only joined her on the weekends. She grabbed some clothes out of the wardrobe and got dressed. She'd made such a mess of things. She knew that and right now she needed to talk to someone and she knew exactly who.

~~~~~~~o

Callen and Annabel were curled up in bed watching a movie. Callen had moved the TV into their bedroom a few weeks ago when she starting having a lot of difficulty getting up from the couch without help. Annabel had a stack of pillows behind her, helping her stay comfortable and Callen was sharing them so he could be close. He'd gotten used to having some form of physical contact with her if they were close enough – a hand being held, arms or legs brushing against each other or some little touch that kept them connected. He liked it. It reminded him that she was his.

Callen glanced at the clock when he heard their doorbell ring. Annabel frowned and looked over at him. It was 10pm. Not exactly normal visiting hours. Callen carefully moved so as not to disturb her and dropped a kiss on her lips.

"Be right back," he said softly.

"Not going anywhere," she replied with a smile.

Callen went downstairs and moved to the front door. Holding his gun behind his back he looked through the peep hole after switching on the light outside.

He frowned. What was Marcus doing here this late? Worry settled on him something might be wrong with Kensi and he opened the door quickly.

"Marcus, what's wrong? Is Kensi all right?"

The look on Marcus' face told Callen that something had gone down between the two. What though he wasn't sure.

"I need to talk to Annabel, please. I know it's late." Marcus sounded desperate and that combined with the miserable look on his face told Callen that whatever it was, was definitely personal.

"Come on in." Callen stepped back and let him through the door.

Marcus turned to look at him. "Is she asleep? I won't wake her if she is."

Callen shook his head and reassured Marcus. "No, she's awake. She's upstairs. Come on."

Callen led the way and opened the bedroom door. Annabel was still where he left her.

"Marcus wants to talk to you. You up for that?"

Annabel frowned; worry clearly appearing on her face. "Of course."

Callen stepped back again and let Marcus through. "I'll be downstairs if you need me," he told them both before he closed the door and walked away. Once downstairs he called Kensi's number but there was no answer. The worry increased. He hoped she was all right. He'd try again in five minutes and if she still didn't answer, he'd be back upstairs to ask Marcus what was going on.

~~~~~~~~~~~o

"Marcus?"

Marcus stood near the door and looked at Annabel. "I'm an idiot."

Annabel smiled gently. "A delightful and loving one though. What happened?"

Marcus moved over and sat down on the bed next to her, carefully.

"I proposed to Kensi," he admitted.

"And that makes you an idiot how?"

Marcus closed his eyes briefly and let out a sigh. Annabel knew by that action alone that he was hurting. Even if the look on his face hadn't already told her that.

"I rushed her," Marcus told her. "I should've waited. It was too soon. She wasn't ready."

Annabel read between the lines. "But you were." She reached for his hand to offer what comfort she could.

"I love her Annabel, so much. This contract is over. I don't know yet what is going to happen work-wise and I didn't want to leave without knowing she was mine."

"She is yours Marcus," Annabel assured him. "Without a ring, without a piece of paper. You know she is."

"I know, but I selfishly want her to be mine in every way."

"That's not being selfish Marcus."

"We fought," he continued. "Actually it was more just me. I said things I shouldn't have."

"She's not Louise, Marcus. You know that right?" Annabel asked him.

Marcus looked at her. She could see the guilt and the pain in his eyes and felt a surge of anger at that woman from so long ago.

"I know," Marcus said. "I overreacted. Reacted based on fear that I'd done it again and I'm just hoping right now that she'll forgive me and give me another chance."

Annabel cupped his cheek and studied his face. "You haven't told Kensi about Louise have you?"

"No."

"Marcus," Annabel sighed. She slipped her arm around him and pulled him close. He rested his head on her shoulder and his hand drifted to her well-rounded stomach, gently running over it. She felt a patch of wetness on her shoulder and held him tighter.

"You love her," she said, "then trust her. Tell her about Louise, the truth about how it made you feel. About everything. It's the only way. You know that. You know how important the truth is in a relationship."

"I know."

Marcus jerked a little and lifted his head. "A little active tonight. Are you okay?" he asked with a concerned frown.

Annabel smiled. She'd felt the hard kick that had been directed at Marcus' hand. "I'm fine. We're both fine. But it's at a point where I can't sleep when the bump is awake. Which is why I was still up."

Marcus settled back down and picked up their previous conversation. "The truth huh? Like you did with Callen about what happened?"

"Like I've done with G about everything."

Marcus seemed to be mulling that over for a few minutes, whilst the bump continued to kick at his hand. It was kind of funny actually. It was a toss-up whether the baby was just having some target practice or trying to tell Marcus to get his hands off Daddy's property, because the kicks weren't quite so strong when it was Callen's hand there.

"It helped you with more than just him didn't it? It gave you the courage to finally tell Grey and I what happened."

It had taken a few months. Annabel had spent a little time with Nate, not telling him everything but going over her emotions related to what had happened and what she hadn't been willing to talk to Grey about. The conversation with Grey had gone better than she had thought it would. He'd understood. More than understood. She'd finally found out Grey had kept things from her too. Still did. Things that had happened before she'd joined him at MI6. The secrets had been kept for the same basic reason – they had just wanted to protect the other from being hurt. But talking to Grey had allowed her to get rid of the last of the guilt that she had felt about not wanting to live through those times. It had given her the closure that had helped her re-close that door on that part of her life, knowing that this time it would stay closed. And telling Marcus had been a natural progression, considering how much he had been there for her. She felt he deserved to know what they had been fighting together.

"Yes," Annabel agreed. "Though it wasn't just telling him about it that did that. Him being there for me has made me stronger than I've ever been. Happier than I've been in a long time."

"I'm really glad you found him. I worried about you, you know."

Annabel smiled. "I know. But I'm a tricky person to love and needed to find the one who could handle me."

Marcus sat up and looked at her with a shake of his head. "You are not tricky. You are special and you deserve him."

Annabel reached out to take his hand again. "As you and Kensi deserve each other. Now what are you going to do about her?"

Marcus rolled his eyes and grinned. "What do you think? Follow your advice of course."

"Then you'd better get going."

Marcus looked at the clock and shook his head. "No, not tonight. I need to figure out how to explain and make it up to her. I said things that I shouldn't have."

"Are you sure?" Annabel asked, concerned that leaving things for so long wouldn't help at all.

"Yeah. I've already messed up tonight by rushing things. I don't want to hurt her again by not getting it right this time."

"Guest room is all yours then."

Marcus frowned, there was a touch of concern to it. "You kicking me out?"

Annabel smiled. "A little. I'm hungry and the bump is starting to quieten down. If I'm lucky I'll get some sleep."

Marcus lent over and kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks."

"Anytime," she replied softly and kissed him back.

"Need a hand up?"

Annabel shook her head and moved to get off the bed, awkwardly but successfully. "Had a little practice lately getting up from here."

Marcus and Annabel left the room and she walked him to the spare room. "Sleep well, Marcus. I'm sure she'll give you another chance."

"I hope so."

Marcus stepped through the door and Annabel made her way downstairs to find Callen.


	74. Chapter 74

_A/N - Thanks so much for the support on this story. I really find it incredibly encouraging to see that review count. It's hard to believe that this story now has over 500 reviews! Thanks so much for sticking with this story and actually helping make it what it is!_

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O  
_

**Chapter 74**

Less than five minutes after Marcus arrived, the doorbell rang again. Callen smiled. He had a strong feeling he knew who was on the other side. He checked the peep hole, just to be sure, before he opened the door and silently ushered Kensi through.

Kensi was barely through the door when she turned abruptly to him. "Can you see me married?"

Callen lifted his eyebrows and started to walk toward the living room. He had a feeling that this might end up being a long conversation - again. "Married?"

"Yes." Kensi stood there, unmoving. Callen stopped and turned back to her. She was looking at him, hands on her hips. Callen wasn't entirely sure what answer she was looking for.

"Do I take it the topic has come up with Marcus?"

"Just answer the damn question Callen," Kensi snapped. "Do you think I could do it?"

"I think you can do anything you set your mind to, Kenz. You've already broken your track record. You've been with Marcus for a long time. You're not that one date girl anymore."

Callen was feeling his way tentatively through this minefield of a topic with Kensi. She rarely spoke about her fiancé or marriage, but the fact that in the past she had been willing but it hadn't worked out, along with the number of people in her life she had lost, made this a dangerous topic. He just hoped he could get through this one as well as the previous serious conversation about relationships that he'd had with her.

"But marriage, that's big." Kensi started to walk to the lounge room as she spoke. "That's I'm sticking with you til death kind of thing."

"So? It's not that bad. Especially with the right person."

Kensi stopped and turned back to him. She studied him for a moment. She could still remember what he was like before Annabel. She knew Callen well enough to be able to see the difference. He was more relaxed, happier, less stressed and work wasn't everything. He smiled (not just at a situation but in general) and laughed more often. He had a reason to live, not just a job to do. Callen moved past her and sat down on the couch. Kensi followed and sat next to him, needing to be close. His presence had given her comfort before when she was in emotional turmoil. She needed it again.

"Marcus is the right person," she whispered, not entirely sure whether she was saying it more for Callen or herself.

"He asked?"

"Yes."

"And you said?"

Kensi put her head back and looked over at him. She didn't want to answer that question but she knew she would because otherwise she wouldn't be here. Callen saw the tears shining in her eyes.

She let out a sigh before she admitted, "Why spoil a good thing."

Callen moved a little closer. "Kenz, you didn't." She put her head down on his shoulder.

"I did. It was stupid, but I was scared. What if it doesn't work out? Not like I've got a lot of examples of knowing how to make a marriage work."

Neither did he but he was managing. Though Callen didn't really think that was what Kensi needed to hear right now.

"Tell me something. What would you do if Marcus walked away?" he asked. "Can you see life if he wasn't in it with you?"

Kensi lifted her head off his shoulder and looked at him; her eyes were sad and still shining.

"I can't see that, Callen," she told him. "It's like he's a part of me. Everything I look forward to has him in it." And it scared her. It scared her that Marcus was so entwined with who she was now and who she saw herself to be later. But at the same time, it felt so right to look into the future and see the two of them together.

"Then how is that going to change if you marry him?" Callen asked gently.

"It's not," she admitted quietly. "But…" she trailed off and looked away from him. She wasn't even sure she knew what she was going to say.

"But what Kenz?" Callen tilted her head back to face him. "Yes, marriage is a big deal. Yes, it's the ultimate commitment to someone. But if you've already made it in your heart, it's not such a big deal to do it officially."

"Is that how you felt? That it wasn't a big deal?"

"Not exactly," Callen said. "It was a big deal. Both Annabel and I had been through so much and for me, it was a stability in my life that I had never had and wanted desperately with her. But mostly, it was a natural step. I wanted her in my life. I wanted her to be mine for as long as I've got left."

A small smile formed on Kensi's face. "Which is probably a tad longer than you would've had before she came along," she added.

Callen smiled. "Probably a lot longer."

"Have you regretted it at all? Pulling back on work or anything."

Callen shook his head. He didn't mind Kensi asking the question. He would admit to it taking a little bit of time to get used to not being out in the midst of a dangerous operation and having to watch from the ops centre, but not to regrets. It had gotten a whole lot easier after the first time he'd felt their child move under his hand. It was like a switch flipped at that moment. There was this little life growing in Annabel that they had created together and there was nothing he wouldn't do to make sure he got to meet the little girl or boy that was theirs.

"No. No regrets at all. I'm not saying it wasn't hard there for a bit," he told her. "I want this life to last as long as possible. I want to grow old with her, see our child born, grow, smile and laugh. I want to enjoy having a family for at least as long as I didn't have one. So I plan on sticking around for a while."

"You really think I can do this?" Kensi asked him.

"I really think you love Marcus and that probably makes you a whole lot stronger than you think you are." She needed to decide that she could do this. Callen couldn't answer that question for her though he could encourage her and give her the support she needed to answer it for herself.

Kensi leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Callen pulled her into his arms and gave her a firm hug, kissed the top of her head. "You are an amazing woman Kensi Blye. You can do anything you want."

"Thanks," she whispered and relaxed into the hug.

They both heard footsteps on the stairs. Slow footsteps and Callen knew who they belonged to. He smiled, released Kensi and stood up. He still didn't like her walking down the stairs alone, but he couldn't do much about it, unless he never left her side. Which was entirely tempting.

Kensi stood up as well and turned around. She quickly brushed the tears off her cheeks, though she was smart enough to know that Annabel would know.

Annabel smiled at Callen and accepted his hand for the last couple of steps and the arm he slipped around her, but her attention was focused on Kensi.

"Marcus is upstairs in the guest room," Annabel said. "There are two things I want to say to you Kensi. One, he loves you. More than I've ever seen him love anyone. I don't want to see him hurt. And I don't want to see you hurt either. You are family and I will protect you both and help you two sort this out however I can. Just ask and I'll be there. Two … I don't care if Marcus considers this interfering, but when you go up there, make him tell you about Louise. You deserve to know and he needs to tell you." Annabel smiled at Kensi. "Now go, sort this out," she ordered gently. "You two belong together and are good for each other."

Kensi stepped toward them and Annabel slipped out of Callen's arms to give Kensi a hug.

"I love you Kensi. Please, please give him a chance to explain," Annabel pleaded.

"I will," Kensi promised. She returned the hug, being careful not to squash the bump that they all cared so much about. She wasn't sure what to expect once Callen became a dad, but she was starting to get used to the idea.

Kensi moved away and walked up the stairs.

Callen carefully tugged Annabel back into his arms. Seeing her protective and encouraging of Kensi did funny things to him, plus the fact that he still found his wife incredibly attractive. He lowered his head and kissed her, starting gently but he couldn't resist deepening it, neither could she. They were taking advantage of these last few days or so before the bump arrived to enjoy each other, knowing that it would take time for that side of the relationship to return. After a few moments though, Annabel pulled back.

"Sorry, but…" she drifted off.

"Are you feeling okay?" Callen asked concerned as he searched her face for some sign of what was wrong.

"Yeah. Umm. We can't do this right now. We have somewhere else to be."

Callen frowned. "Where?" It was late. They should be in bed, which admittedly where his thoughts had been going with that kiss.

"The hospital."

Callen's eyes went wide as the implications of what she said dawned in his mind. His heart leapt and sped up; his mind whirled trying to remember everything that needed to be done. He stepped away from her to the table, grabbed his keys and phone before he turned back to her. "Where's your bag?" he asked quickly. "Who do we need to call? What-"

Annabel moved to him and placed a finger over his lips, stilling not only his words but his slightly frantic movements. "G. Slow down, relax. It's fine," she assured him.

Callen was sure that she was laughing just a little at his panic. He felt himself slowly gather his wits. He had freaked, but this was his child. His first at that, he didn't really know what to expect even though he'd read the books.

Annabel moved her fingers from his lips, took his hand in hers and continued. "The bag is in the car, as it has been for the last two weeks. We don't need to call anyone, Grey will know and he'll make the calls."

There were times when Callen forgot how in sync those two were, but right now was one of those moments when he was very glad about that. Phone calls would just take time and he'd never been more nervous than he was right at this moment. Though most of it could be excitement if he stopped and thought about it long enough.

"Are you sure?" Callen asked.

"Yes. I have been through this before. Just leave a note for Kensi and Marcus." Annabel pulled him gently to her and kissed him softly on his lips. "Write the note G, then we'll go."

Callen moved back to the table and grabbed a pen. "How long have you known?" he asked whilst he wrote.

"I knew for sure just before Marcus arrived," Annabel admitted. "I was going to tell you when the movie finished."

Callen glanced back at her and shook his head. "You should have told me straight away."

Annabel rolled her eyes, smiled and tilted her head toward the stairs. "Then neither of us would have been here for them."

She had him there. Kensi and Marcus had needed them tonight. Callen turned his attention back to the note, finished it and put it on the fridge. He turned back to Annabel. "Done. Let's go."

"G." Annabel smiled at him.

"What?"

"I love you," she said. "Everything is fine. You don't have to worry."

Callen moved closer, pulled her back into his arms and kissed her gently. "As if. I'll always worry about you."

Annabel cupped his cheek and smiled at him. "Stop worrying and be happy. We're about to meet the bump."

Callen couldn't help the grin or the excitement that started to grow enough to push the nervousness to the background. "Yeah. We are."


	75. Chapter 75

_A/N - Oh so close to finishing this. Just a couple of chapters. It's sad really but exciting for new challenges. _

_Also, you would think that after writing and posting so many stories that I would know how to do it properly, but oh no, apparently I had a temporary glitch on all the things to check when posting new stories because my third Fever installment managed to get posted as M! All fixed now but thought it was quite funny that I managed to repeat the same mistake I did with my first story and neither of them were worthy at all of an M rating!_

_Anyway, back to the program. Hope you enjoy some more Kensi & Marcus moments._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

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**Chapter 75**

Kensi took a steadying breath and knocked gently on the guest room door. There was a look of surprise on Marcus' face when he opened it. She could see what she thought might be a slight shine where tears seemed to have left streaks on his cheek. Her heart fluttered a little that he was as affected by this as she was. It was closely followed by pain that she had done this to him. Kensi swallowed nervously. The fact that he didn't have a shirt on wasn't helping her right now.

"Can I come in?" she asked tentatively.

"Sure." Marcus stepped back to let her pass. He closed the door behind them and turned around to face her.

Kensi took a moment to gather herself but she couldn't quite focus. "Please, can you put a shirt on?" she asked, not caring that she sounded weak.

Marcus raised his eyebrows at her request. "You never seemed to mind before," he replied. Much to her relief though, he did comply.

"We've never had a fight before that we needed to have a serious discussion about."

Marcus pulled on a shirt and then sat down on the bed before looking at her again. Kensi remained standing, her arms crossed over her chest to try and hide the fact that her hands were shaking.

"I'm sorry," Marcus said softly. "I didn't mean to rush you."

Kensi's heart fluttered again at the sincerity in his tone. She caught his gaze and held it, refusing to let the nerves control her. "I'm the one who should be apologising. I freaked and reacted badly."

"I must admit it certainly wasn't what I had hoped for when I asked you to marry me."

"Who's Louise?" Kensi blurted out. So much for being in control.

"Louise?"

She saw Marcus tense at the name and she worried that perhaps Annabel had been wrong. Perhaps she shouldn't be forcing him to talk about her.

"Yeah."

"Annabel," Marcus noted verbally, with a small smile before he stood up and started to pace, which admittedly wasn't much in the small room.

"She cares about you, about us," Kensi added.

"I know." Marcus turned to face her and stopped moving. "And you deserve to know about Louise. I should've told you about her sooner. I just didn't really want to bring up that part of my life. It was so long ago."

Kensi took a small step closer to him. "What did she do to you?" She could hear the lingering pain in his voice.

"Cheated on me. That's one of the reasons why I'm not a one night stand kind of guy, Kensi. I've never really been like that anyway, not saying I've got a perfect track record," Marcus explained. "But after Louise, it was even more important for me not to go down that road. I couldn't do that to someone else. I couldn't just have one night because one night isn't long enough to figure out if that someone is with someone else. I didn't want to be the cause of that kind of betrayal, even if I didn't know who it was happening to."

"I'm sorry. She was a fool to risk losing you." As I was earlier, she added silently to herself.

"She seemed perfect, liked the things I did, we never fought. She was sweet and attentive. We were going to get married. I'd already proposed," Marcus continued. "We were three weeks off the wedding. I came home from a job early to find her in bed with some guy. And it wasn't just a random guy either. They were discussing how long she'd need to stay married to me before she could get out of it and how much she could take when she did."

Marcus finally looked at her and Kensi's heart ached for what she saw in his eyes. The memory obviously still hurt him.

"They had plans Kensi, on what they would do with her share. I hadn't had a pre-nup drawn up because I trusted her. She already had a lawyer on standby who was advising her what she needed to do. She'd planned it, seeked me out, already knowing what I was worth."

Kensi knew how private Marcus was about his wealth. His paternal grandfather had started a small consultancy business many years ago and worked hard to make it successful. When Marcus had finished University, he'd joined the already successful firm, but had worked hard to make it grow into the huge success it was now. His maternal grandmother had left half of her vast estate to him when she died when he was younger. He was her only grandchild, the rest had been left to his mother. Over the years after he'd reached eighteen and allowed to access it, he'd successfully invested it. He was worth a small fortune between his personal wealth and the business. But no one knew for sure how much. Perhaps she had just discovered the reason why he was so private about these kind of things.

Kensi stepped over and placed a hand on his arm. His hand went over hers and he sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling her down to sit next to him.

"How long ago?" Kensi asked.

"Ten years now."

"What did you do?"

"Slipped out before they could figure out I was there and showed up the next day with a pre-nup that said she wouldn't be entitled to anything that I brought into the marriage, though anything after would be split fifty-fifty. There were definitely advantages to personally knowing a lawyer. Nic worked through the night to get it iron-clad for me. I figured if she really loved me she wouldn't mind signing it." Marcus chuckled briefly, though it wasn't really a happy sound. "She flipped out and I confronted her. She admitted it, was rather smug that she'd managed to get as far as she had. We'd been together for almost two years and it was only then that I saw the real her. A manipulative actress who played me like a fool for so long."

Kensi moved closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder, offering him silent comfort as she waited patiently for him to continue.

"After that I swore I would never get married. I'd fallen into the trap once and hadn't seen it; wasn't going to risk it again. I guess you could say I was a little jaded when it came to the majority of the female population at that point."

Kensi lifted her head, the time frame connecting in her mind. "But you proposed to Annabel after that?" _And me._

It wasn't that she was upset about that. She was simply curious about why he'd changed his mind. Because he seemed to be the kind of man who knew what he wanted and didn't do that often.

"Yeah. Annabel was a special case. I love her, you know that. We'd known each other for so long and I knew she was absolutely nothing like Louise. But our relationship isn't that kind of one. I wanted to keep her safe, give her the opportunity to not go back to work." Marcus looked down at Kensi, an intense seriousness in his gaze. "I would have been faithful to her, Kensi. Even if it never progressed to a physical marriage, it would have been real in every other way and I definitely wouldn't have cheated on her."

Kensi believed every word. It was hard not to with the truth staring at her from his eyes. She reached up and placed her hand against his cheek. "You were willing to give up your life to protect her," she concluded. Maybe not in the way of dying, but by marrying Annabel, the possibility of a life with someone else would have been lost.

"It was the only thing I could do," Marcus told her. "I couldn't go after the bad guys. Even Grey and Shawn who had the resources and were more than physically capable to do it hadn't been able to and believe me they were trying. They just couldn't get any leads. But giving her the option to stop, to not go back into a role that could do that to her again, to give her the freedom to do anything else - That I could do."

"You are an amazing man, Marcus Evans."

Marcus looked away from her as he spoke. "But you don't want to marry me." His tone was sad and resigned.

Kensi gathered up every scrap of courage she could. "I do. I'm just scared," she admitted softly.

"Of what?" Marcus asked as he turned back to face her and stared into her eyes, like he was searching for something in them.

"Of failing you." Kensi's voice was barely above a whisper as she admitted something to him that she hadn't even been brave enough to tell Callen. It wasn't that she was scared of failing for herself, but of what it would do to him if the marriage failed. She loved him and couldn't bear thinking about the possibility that she could hurt him. She glanced away before he could see the tears forming in her eyes.

"Kensi," Marcus implored her to look at him. She did.

"I can't promise you that it will be easy," he said. "All I can promise you is that I want you in my life. I can see us together for a long time. I see you in my future. I want that future with you. But it is going to take work from both of us. We're going to need to give it everything."

"I've never seen that though. I have nothing to guide me," she said desperately trying to make him understand that she was going in blind.

"I have." Marcus reached out and put his hand behind her neck. It kept her looking at him as he continued. "I've seen both sides of the story. My parents have been together forever. They have a quiet relationship that is so content. There are Annabel's parents. They too have been together forever, but their relationship isn't quiet. It is content, but they fight. They are two head-strong determined people who don't always agree. But what they definitely agree on is that they are their own people and they know that they are different. They work with that. They keep their marriage separate to their personal opinions about things. They fight, but it is about a topic and they don't let it get personal and they don't bring personal things into it. It's their first rule. And it works for them. They are as much in love and happy and together as when I first met them, if not perhaps a little more." Marcus frowned a little. "Then there were my grandparents. Another reason I'm not a one-night stand guy. They'd been together for almost thirty years when my grandmother had one moment of indiscretion that broke that relationship. They eventually became friends again before my grandmother died but my grandfather was heartbroken by the betrayal. Going in with no experience isn't such a bad thing," Marcus assured her. "No two marriages are the same, not two relationships are. We are going to make our own mistakes, have our own fights and we're going to have to figure it out for ourselves."

Marcus brushed Kensi's hair back from her face. "I'm sorry I rushed you. I still want to marry you. I still love you so much Kensi Blye, but if this isn't for you, then I'll take you any way you can handle. Please don't let me have ruined this relationship."

Kensi covered his hand that was on her neck and leaned close. She brushed her lips over his. "You haven't," she assured him softly. "I hope neither have I?"

"No, neither have you." Marcus lowered his head and caught her lips with his in a heady kiss that left Kensi with no doubt as to his feelings for her, both physical and those of the heart. She pulled back slightly, just far enough so she could look him in the eyes.

"Help me, Marcus. Help me be someone who can handle marriage."

Marcus smiled gently. It brightened his eyes. "I'll help you, if you'll help me."

"I will," Kensi promised.

Marcus' smile got bigger at her words. "You know that almost sounded like a vow," he teased gently. Kensi knew he wasn't pushing. It made her smile and her heart swell with love for him even more.

And so she let her heart answer. "If you'll still have me, I'm willing to make them."

Marcus pulled back and looked at her, his eyes wide in surprise.

"Is that a yes?" There was disbelief in his voice but hope too.

Kensi grinned. "Maybe you should ask again and see if the answer is different."

Marcus stood up and paced the room for a moment, like he was trying to figure out how to do it. Then he went to his jacket and pulled out a ring box before returning to her. Kensi's breath caught as he dropped to one knee in front of her and opened the box though she couldn't look away from his eyes.

"Kensi Marie Blye, will you please do me the honour of being my wife? Please say yes," he whispered, his voice clearly nervous and his hands shaking. Kensi didn't even look at the ring before she answered.

"Yes." She lowered her head to his and kissed him. His arms went around her and he returned the kiss passionately. The ring box dropped to the floor, clearly forgotten as they proceeded to show the other without words just how much they meant to each other. Callen had been right. When it was love, it was more about the other person than about you.

~o~

Kensi was resting her head on his shoulder. They had pulled the sheets up over them to keep the chill of the cool night air off them.

"You know I still haven't seen the ring," Kensi told him as her fingers danced over his chest.

"I got a little distracted with your answer. Would you like me to get it now?"

"Yeah. That and I'm hungry. Do you think Callen and Annabel keep anything decent in the fridge for a midnight snack?" She moved out of the comfort of his arms to allow him to get up.

"How about we go find out?" Marcus stood up and pulled on his pants. He tossed his shirt to her and she slipped it on, loving having his scent wrapped around her. Marcus walked around the bed and found the discarded ring box. When he looked back at her, Kensi could see he was nervous.

"Show me, Marcus. I'm sure it's beautiful."

Marcus came and sat next to her. He handed her the box.

Kensi opened it and gasped. It was beautiful. A princess cut diamond in a white gold band. Not too big that it would interfere with work or anything if she happened to be wearing it, but not tiny either. It was simple, beautiful and elegant. She handed him back the box and held out her left hand.

"Please," she asked and Marcus smiled.

He took the ring out of the box and held her hand gently in his larger one. As he slid the ring onto her finger, which fitted perfectly, he made her a promise. "I, Marcus Evans, do promise to help you and fight for you. I love you Kensi Blye and I promise to marry you, when you are ready."

Kensi's eyes blurred with tears at his promise and the emotion in it.

"I Kensi Blye, promise to help you and fight for you," she repeated. "I love you Marcus Evans, though I cannot promise that loving me won't be difficult and a times downright irritating. I cannot promise that I won't drive you up the wall and maybe even make you regret that you love me. But I can promise that right here and right now, I want this, I want you and I want to be with you for as long as I have left." She was sure Callen wouldn't mind her borrowing his phrase.

Marcus moved in and kissed her gently. "No regrets. I promise. When you are ready, let me know."

Kensi rested her head against his forehead. "I just need some time to get used to the idea. How about we say we do this in six months? I don't think I'm up for something quite as quick as Annabel and Callen."

"Are you sure?" Marcus asked. "We don't need to set a date now."

Kensi smiled. "Yes we do. _I_ do. I need to have a time-frame or I'll just keep putting it off and I don't want to do that to us."

"Six months it is then," Marcus agreed. He stood up and held out his hand to her. "Shall we go see what there is to eat?"

Kensi put her hand in his and allowed him to pull her up. "I should probably get a little better dressed than this," she remarked, looking down at the shirt that reached down to mid-thigh.

"You'll be fine," Marcus said, tugging her toward the door. "Callen and Annabel will be asleep by now. It's late and she was heading to bed just before you came up. Plus," he added pulling her close and letting his fingers play with the bottom of the shirt, "I like you dressed like this."

Kensi smiled and kissed him softly. "Food first," she replied at the look in his eyes.

Together they left the room and quietly made their way down the stairs. Marcus moved to get some glasses and plates whilst Kensi went to raid the fridge.

"Umm, Marcus," Kensi said tentatively. Marcus turned around and looked at Kensi who was holding a piece of paper.

"What?" he asked, nervous at the tone in Kensi's voice.

"I don't think Callen and Annabel are asleep." She held out the piece of paper to him. "They've gone to the hospital. Looks like the bump is on its way."


	76. Chapter 76

_A/N- Well the end is near. Only one chapter left after this. Apologises for the delay in updating. Life, computer time, lack of motivation of the plot bunnies to finish this or even write much else. I think they have gone on a temporary holiday and are only coming back one at a time. It's taken a while of small doses to get this tweaked enough to be happy with it._

_Glad you enjoyed the Kensi/Marcus make up. Hope you enjoy meeting the bump._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

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**Chapter 76**

Annabel looked up at Callen after a really strong contraction. Her breathing was harsh and there were tears in her eyes.

"I can't do this," she whispered in despair.

Callen cupped her face and looked at her carefully. The contractions had started to get more frequent and stronger since about an hour after they had arrived at the hospital. She'd been doing great so far, managing the pain, though he knew it hurt her. The way she gripped his hand told him that. He really wasn't sure where this doubt was coming from. Something was very wrong and he had no idea what.

"Why not?" he asked gently

Annabel took some deep breaths trying to steady her breathing.

"What if they're wrong?" Her voice was soft and worried.

There was pain in it that had nothing to do with the physical type that they'd been working through and suddenly Callen understood. Before he could say anything to encourage her or reassure her, she continued and the tears fell.

"What if the same thing is wrong as with Zoe? I can't go through that again. I can't."

Callen brushed the tears off her cheeks, his fingers soft and gentle as she lent into the touch. "Annabel, you know we've checked, double checked and triple checked. Even just last week. The doctors say everything is looking great."

There had even been one point that they had dropped into a random obstetrician's office for a check-up that they had never been to – a doctor that no one could have gotten to – after she'd woken up from a nightmare of a repeat of everything with Mitch and Zoe.

"They could be wrong. I don't think I can take that risk. I'm sorry."

Callen pulled her into his arms, held her and pressed a soft lingering kiss on the side of her head. He knew how much she wanted this. They'd been working toward this for so long. She knew the risks and benefits of the different types of birth by heart and hadn't wanted a caesarean. But now she wasn't sure.

"Whatever you need," Callen whispered softly against her head. He wouldn't push her, just support her, encourage her but never push her. He hadn't been through what she had and this was obviously affecting her deeply. "Just remember though, we've done everything to make sure that we knew everything was fine."

Annabel lent into him and took some more steadying breaths. "I'm sorry, I just … I can't lose this one too."

Callen glanced over at the midwife and nodded. The midwife had been briefed on Annabel's previous complications and understood. She left quietly to make the necessary arrangements.

Another contraction hit Annabel and, as they worked through the pain, Callen heard the door open. He raised his eyes briefly to see Pen walking slowly over, giving them time to get through the contraction before she came into Annabel's line of vision. Annabel let out a shaky sigh of relief when it was over. Only then did Pen move closer and put an arm around her daughter. She also reached out and took Callen's hand in hers.

"Are you all right my darlings?" she asked both of them, though her eyes were focused on Annabel.

Annabel looked up at her mother and when Callen saw the look that passed between them he knew that Pen already knew that something wasn't right, which was the reason for her being in here.

"I'm scared Mum, more than scared," Annabel admitted quietly. "I don't want to lose this child. What if they were wrong? What if they missed something?"

Pen brush a soft kiss across Annabel's forehead and squeezed Callen's hand. "Is that what you are worried about or are you worried that someone may have gotten to the doctor like before?"

Annabel shook her head, reassuring Callen that they had actually managed to take care of that fear.

"No, I'm not worried about that."

"You had this pregnancy checked out by multiple doctors. You still aren't sure?" Pen asked gently.

Annabel just stared at her mother, not really able to put into words why this was freaking her out. She knew that they'd had more than one opinion, knew all of the results matched up but she was still terrified that they had missed something.

"Darling," Pen started as she stroked Annabel's hair, "do you remember when you were four? And Milton Pickford tried to teach you how to ride a bike?"

Callen hadn't heard this story before but it was obviously a good one since Annabel smiled, albeit only briefly before another contraction hit. Pen stepped back and allowed Callen to help her through it without interference. Once it was over, Annabel looked at Callen and smiled again.

"Milt was our neighbour, a couple of years older and supposedly wiser," she said. "I wanted to learn to ride my bike before Grey and Dad come home from their boy's day out." Annabel looked at her mother with a slight frown. She wasn't quite sure where this story was going.

"He told you how to ride the bike and you tried. Do you remember what happened?"

Annabel nodded. "I fell down the hill off my bike and scraped my knees and my arms."

"Yes. It didn't work. Because he gave you the wrong information. What happened when your father came home?"

Annabel smiled softly at the memory and Callen started to feel her relax slightly in his arms. "He showed me how to ride the bike." The smile turned into a soft chuckle as she turned her face to Callen and continued. "On _my_ bike. A grown man on a four year old's bike was an interesting sight. Surprisingly, he did actually do it successfully."

"And…" Pen prompted.

"And then I got on, rode the bike and didn't fall off," Annabel concluded.

"So, what I'm trying to say here is that when you have the right information, things work. You didn't have the right details from Milton, but you did from your father. It made all the difference." Pen dropped another kiss on Annabel's forehead before she continued. "Before, with Zoe, they gave you the wrong information. This time, it's different. You've had the same results from multiple sources. You can do this Annabel, the way you did with Zoe. Or not. It is you choice Sweetheart. I just don't want you making a choice clouded by fear. Make it from the information you have and how you feel about that, but please, set the fear aside. Don't let it take this experience away from you."

Annabel nodded but before she could say anything another contraction hit, which Callen was sure was way closer to the last one than they had previously been. Stronger too if Annabel's grip on his hand and look on her face was anything to go by.

"You okay?" Callen asked, concerned, when it was over.

Annabel looked at him, her eyes slightly wider than before. "I don't think I have much of a choice now," she told him slowly. "This baby is ready to meet us." She looked to her mother. "Please Mum, can you find the midwife? This isn't going to take much longer."

Pen left quickly and Callen turned Annabel in his arms and studied her face before he spoke, relieved that the despair and fear wasn't there anymore. "What do you want me to do?"

Annabel smiled. "What you do best. Be there for me. I don't know how yet."

"Always," Callen replied softly and brushed a gentle kiss across her lips, just moments before the next one hit and the midwife, doctor and Pen came back in.

Pen came up beside Annabel. "Would you like me stay?" Annabel nodded. Pen looked at Callen to make sure it was okay with him. He nodded too.

In the end, Callen ended up sitting behind Annabel, with her leaning against him. Pen held one hand, whilst Callen continued holding the other. His other hand alternated between resting reassuringly on the bump and stroking her cheek or shoulder depending on what he felt she needed at the time. Annabel's head dropped back against his shoulder when she pushed and he whispered anything he could think of in her ear.

He'd read the books on how to help her, what not to do, but that went out the window and he let his instincts take over. He knew his wife better than any book could and he must have been doing something right because he didn't experience any snapping, anger or any of those other 'crazy' things women in labour are supposed to do when their partners say or do the wrong thing.

Annabel trusted him, needed him and wanted him there; depended on him to help calm and settle her down between contractions. She turned her head into his neck between pushes and took deep breaths, breathing in that scent that always helped her calm down. It had been too late for any major pain relief by the time the midwife got back with the doctor, so she relied on him. On his scent, on his touch, on his voice to get her through the pain and to help her settle even when all she felt like doing was screaming that it hurt too much and could someone please stop it, she just wanted to go home. Somehow he knew what she needed and when and it worked. He kissed her often, made her smile in the short time between contractions. After that final push, when their child finally arrived, she collapsed back against him and he could feel the relief settle over her.

Then they heard their child's first cry and Annabel started to shake in his arms and the tears fell down her face before making their way down his neck. Callen looked between their child and Annabel and he could see in her eyes exactly what that cry meant. Zoe hadn't cried. It was a sign to Annabel that everything had actually gone well.

The baby was quickly placed on Annabel's stomach, a soft sheet draped over them. The midwife looked up and smiled. "Congratulations, it's a boy. A perfectly healthy boy," she assured them.

Callen and Annabel looked down at their child and neither could resist a smile. Their son wasn't exactly clean or dry or unwrinkled. He was red in his face and was still crying a little. Annabel reached out and stroked his cheek. She whispered softly to him and the baby looked at her, one eye open the other still stuck a little closed, and stopped crying. Callen kissed Annabel on the side of the head and reached out to their son too. He put his little finger in the palm of their child's hand and the tiny, perfect fingers closed around his. It was just a reflex, he knew that, but Callen didn't care; it warmed his heart and he felt his own tears form in his eyes.

"Congratulations," Pen whispered to them both. She kissed her daughter's head and smiled at Callen. "I'll let the other's know. They're all here waiting outside." With that she left the new little family alone, before she even knew the name of her grandson.

Callen gazed at his little family and smiled. Gibbs had said all he needed was a wife and child to complete it and here they were. And he couldn't be happier.

Annabel pulled her gaze away from their son and looked at Callen.

"So, Dad. What's his name?" she asked softly.

Callen looked at her face and smiled at what he saw. She was happy; there was no trace of the pain on her face that she had just gone through. Tiredness yes, but no pain and no fear.

"Name?" Annabel prompted with a little grin. "You did choose one didn't you?"

"I did," Callen nodded. Annabel had left the name up to him. She'd already had the privilege of naming Zoe, so she was giving him that same chance. Next time, if there was another child, they'd agreed they would figure that one out together.

"Thomas Caleb Callen."

Annabel stared at him for a moment, looking shocked at his choice. Callen smiled again.

"Two men who have made us what we are in some way. Two men who, if he turns out anything like either of them, will be a lovingly, caring and protective man. A man worthy of those names."

He'd learnt enough about his father and Tom from Rebecca and Annabel to know that.

Annabel felt the tears fall from her eyes. "Thomas Caleb," she repeated. "I like it. I like it a lot."

Callen looked down at their son, just as the midwife came over.

"We need to do those checks again and weigh him. We'll just be a minute."

Callen and Annabel both nodded. The midwife carefully took their son and both watched as she moved only a few steps away.

Annabel looked back to Callen. "I honestly thought you'd put Sam into the name."

Callen grinned. "I was going to but Thomas Caleb Samuel Callen seemed a bit too much of a mouthful. We'll do it for the next one."

Annabel raised her eyebrows and looked at him curiously. "You want to go through all this again?" she asked.

"That will depend on whether you are up for it," Callen replied seriously. He wasn't going to push, but he was more than happy for his family to expand. Even though he really didn't know how things would go with him as a father, he was confident with his family around and Annabel by his side, he'd do a pretty good job. Plus, he had a good idea of what not to do and that had to give him a definite advantage.

Annabel rested her head against his shoulder and their eyes turned to their son as she answered.

"Figure I can handle it again, as long as you're by my side."

"Always," Callen whispered as the midwife brought little Thomas back to them. She placed him on Annabel's chest and again he stopped crying when she touched him. Callen smiled at the thought that their son found her touch just as comforting as he did.

Annabel's eyes were still on their son, though her question was most definitely directed at him. "What are we going to call him? Thomas, Tom or Tommy?"

"I think Tommy for now," Callen said. "The other's seem a bit too grown up."

"Tommy," Annabel whispered as she stroked the little boy's cheek. "Sounds good."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

It ended up being half an hour later when Callen finally left the room to see those waiting patiently for them. Annabel and Tommy had managed to have that first vital feed. Another milestone that had been extremely important to Annabel and one he hadn't wanted to miss. The midwife was helping get them cleaned up and ready to move out of the delivery suite to the private room that had been arranged.

Sam was the first to spot him and was out of his seat quickly. Callen smiled at the excitement on his partner's face.

Callen knew Pen would have told them it was a boy and that they were doing well, but given that they were all here, they obviously wanted to hear it directly from him that everything had gone well or were waiting for a name.

Callen walked over to them. Such a big family. His mother, Mary and Grace were there. Hetty (who for some reason pulled out her phone when she saw him), Sam, Nate and even Eric. Kensi was standing next to Marcus, their arms around each other. Callen caught a twinkling on her finger from the lights and smiled. Obviously those two had sorted things out. Then there was Pen and Nic, Grey and Olivia. Annabel's parents had flown in two weeks ago to make sure they were here for the big event. They were staying with Grey and Olivia.

"They are both doing great," Callen assured them all. "We all are."

"Name G. Don't make me hurt you," Sam demanded, though Callen knew it was just teasing. He grinned back at Sam.

"Thomas Caleb Callen. Seven pound five. 53 cm. Perfect."

Rebecca stepped over to him and hugged him tight. He returned it easily.

"Congratulations," Rebecca said softly in his ear. When she pulled back Callen could see the tears in her eyes. He knew how much it meant to her that things had come so far in the relationship between them that he had chosen to include his father's name in his son's.

The hugs came thick and fast after that, from everyone and he didn't mind. It was only when Hetty hugged him and held out the phone that he realised she'd been calling Gibbs and still had him on the line. When everyone had finished, Callen glanced briefly at his watch and noticed it had just gone half five in the morning. He was tempted to send them home but Annabel wanted to introduce Tommy to the family before they left; especially Pen, Nic and Grey. After that they had agreed it would just be the three of them for the rest of the day and visitors could come back tomorrow. He asked them if they'd mind staying for just a little longer and they all happily agreed.

Once Annabel and Tommy were settled in the room, everyone filtered in slowly, taking turns. One or two at a time.

First was Pen and Nic. Callen saw the delight, the love, and the tears in their eyes. He knew how emotional this time must be for them. This was a whole different experience to what they had with Zoe. This time everything was perfect. The way it should be. They both had a brief hold of Tommy before they left. Their grandson remained quiet and peaceful in their arms. Callen watched Nic's reaction in particular, knew the relief that he saw on his Father-in-law's face was similar to the relief Annabel had felt when she heard Tommy cry that first time.

Hetty and Rebecca came next, two doting grandmothers. Both were delighted with the new addition to their family. They didn't stay long, just enough to give them all a gentle hug and tease Callen that Tommy looked nothing like him, except for the eyes which were, of course, blue. Once they left Annabel looked at Callen and smiled.

"They might not think he looks like you but he has my heart just as much as you do. And if his eyes stay blue, I'm going to be in trouble."

Callen dropped a kiss on his wife's lips. "Can't resist them can you?" he teased.

"Can't resist you," Annabel replied. She looked back at Tommy before she returned her gaze to him. She grinned, shaking her head lightly. "I'm definitely in so much trouble with the two of you."

"For?" came Grey's voice from the doorway.

Callen and Annabel turned to see him and Olivia standing there patiently.

"Hi," Annabel said softly.

Grey walked over to her, Olivia followed slowly.

Grey took Annabel's hand and kissed her on the cheek. "You did it."

"Yep, we did." Annabel smiled at her brother and watched as he looked down at his little nephew. She saw the tears and, due to that freaky connection the two of them had, felt the emotions that were overwhelming Grey at that moment. She squeezed his hand gently. "Do you want to hold him?"

The excitement on Grey's face made Callen chuckle slightly. It reminded him of Sam's look. Without waiting for a verbal answer, Callen carefully lifted Tommy out of Annabel's arms and handed him to Grey. Olivia stood next to her husband and wrapped her arms around him.

"He's beautiful, Annabel," Olivia said in a gentle, quiet voice.

"Yeah," Grey agreed, his voice so thick with emotion. He stroked Tommy's cheek carefully and moved the blanket a little so he could put his much larger hand over the tiny chest. He placed a gentle kiss on his nephew's forehead.

Annabel looked between Grey and Callen and smiled. Callen could see the tears in her eyes and bent closer. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

Annabel nodded and glanced at Grey. "He needed this. To know everything was all right."

Callen looked back and realised there was more behind Grey's actions then just being overwhelmed with a new family member. The touches had been to feel the warmth, the moving of the blanket to touch the chest had been so he could feel the movements of Tommy's breathing and the strong fast beats of the tiny heart.

Grey had been with Annabel that day with Zoe. He had held Zoe as well, felt the slowing of the breathing and the heart and the cooling of her body. Callen could see it in Grey's eyes. He was surprised how easily he was able to read the emotion there. Grey needed to feel everything was right with Tommy, not just be told.

Mary, Grace, Sam, Nate and Eric filtered in turn, just for a couple of minutes each. Mary, Grace and Sam were quite comfortable holding Tommy. With Sam though Tommy looked a lot smaller than he really was. By the time Nate and Eric came in, Tommy was asleep. Nate had a hold, a softness creeping over his face before he went to pass the baby to Eric, who promptly stepped back and refused. Callen raised his eyebrows and waited. Eric blushed and told them that he had a habit of waking sleeping babies. They just seem to wake up whenever he held them, no matter how long ago they went to sleep. He didn't want to risk that. He was willing to hold Tommy, just as long as he was already awake.

Then came Marcus and Kensi.

Annabel looked at Marcus and smiled. "I guess I'm not in trouble for interfering then?" she teased.

Marcus stepped over to her with a stern look on his face. "Not for interfering but for not telling me you were already in labour when I was dumping on you about how much of an idiot I was. You told me it was just an active night."

Marcus looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms. He reached out and gently brushed the little fingers and smiled softly.

"Well, it was. Just not active in the normal way." Annabel looked between the two of them and smiled again. "I take it you two sorted things out since you are in the same room."

Kensi stepped up beside Marcus and smiled at Annabel. "All sorted. We both reacted badly but we both know what we want."

"And that is?" Annabel prompted.

Marcus reached for Kensi's hand and lifted it. Annabel smiled in delight. "Congratulations. You definitely deserve each other."

Kensi lent forward and kissed Annabel on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered. "For accepting me."

Annabel smiled back. "Right back at ya. You accepted me too."

Kensi grinned. "Yeah, well. You made him," indicating in Callen's direction, "better. He's more fun these days." She stepped back next to Marcus and slipped her hand into his.

"I was always fun," Callen retorted.

"Never said you weren't, just that she made you more fun."

Callen rolled his eyes and grinned. "Ditto on Marcus for you."

Annabel yawned and Callen chuckled as she tried to fight it. "All right you two. Go get some sleep," he said.

"We get the hint. You want to be alone with your wife and son. We're going."

Callen walked them to the door and closed it quietly behind them. He returned to the double bed and settled himself down next to Annabel and Tommy.

"How are you doing?" Callen asked softly as he snuggled up next to them and rested his hand gently on Tommy's back.

"Tired but happy," Annabel said softly as she lent her head against him and her fingers stroked the soft hair of their son as he continued to sleep peacefully in her arms.

"Makes three of us then," Callen agreed. He looked down at her face and could see her eyelids dropping. "Let me take him. You get some sleep."

Annabel looked up and bit her lip. Callen smiled. He could see how reluctant she was to let Tommy go. He knew it wasn't personal, just that she needed to be close to Tommy – for reassurance.

"I'll be right here. Right next to you," he assured her.

Annabel shook her head, common sense forcing its way through the fear that occasionally reared its head. Every step with Tommy was one step closer though, one more thing that hadn't happened with Zoe.

"You need sleep too," she said. "We'll put him in the crib. We'll all get some sleep."

Callen nodded and carefully took Tommy from her. He made sure he was securely wrapped in the soft baby blanket that Hetty had given them and placed him in the crib just beside the bed – within reach of Annabel.

Annabel turned on her side so she was facing the crib and Callen slipped back into bed right behind her. She settled back against him. He covered them with the sheet and blanket and wrapped an arm around her.

"I love you," Callen whispered softly. "You were amazing."

"So were you," Annabel whispered back so quietly he almost missed it. Callen listened carefully and smiled when her breathing quickly settled into an even and relaxed rhythm of sleep. He followed quickly, though not as deep as normal. He was tuned into both his wife and son in case they needed him.


	77. Chapter 77

_A/N - Well, here goes. The final chapter. _

_Thanks so much for the amazing support you have given me on this story. The favouriting, alerts and reviews has been mind-blowing.  
_

_So, I do hope you enjoy the wrap-up (at least the second wrap-up! for those romantically inclined that kept going!). It's been hard to find the right place but I'm hoping I've pulled it off. At least I'm happy enough to leave this little world and the characters to live the rest of their lives in privacy. ;-)  
_

_I would love to hear from you about what you thought of the story now that it is complete, what you loved, what you didn't, where things could have been improved. I might not be able to change this story but any constructive advice will certainly help future stories - and I have plenty of ideas just need to find the time and the bunnies to get hopping._

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1!  
_

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**.**

**Chapter 77**

Kensi closed her eyes and took some slow deep breaths. She shouldn't be nervous right? This is what she wants.

Kensi opened her eyes and looked in the mirror. She smiled at the image in front of her. Her dress was ivory, and mostly straight. There was a split in the side to allow her to walk easily but it was covered where the material crossed over creating a small double layer. A split to mid-thigh wasn't exactly correct bridal attire. The dress had a simple square cut neckline and one inch straps over her shoulders and her hair was piled on top of her head with a few ringlets loosely falling around her face.

Yes, this is what she wants. Marcus had given her that dream wedding. The one you dream about when you were a young teenager with nothing to worry about. Not only that, the groom was perfect for her.

Admittedly there were some minor tweaks to the plan. The fashions had definitely been updated. Her dad wasn't going to be walking her down the aisle. Though in his place was someone who was very special and family in his own way.

Also it wasn't a huge wedding, like she'd dreamed when she was a young teenager – the one where every member of your extended family and all the friends you'd ever had and never lost touch with were there, happy for you yet entirely jealous that you'd scored so well. Kensi smiled at that thought. Funny how the important things in life change as you get older. Given what she did for a living though, it was best to keep it a private affair. Initially she hadn't been sure that was going to be possible given who Marcus was. The successfulness of his business meant he was in the limelight and public eye to a degree. However, he had promised that his personal life was off limits to the media. He refused to allow them to print anything about his personal life a long time ago. He'd even gone so far as to take the relevant papers to court. He'd won. His argument had been that his business was what he was known for and as such his personal life wasn't relevant public knowledge. The judge had agreed and awarded damages that had ensured no one tried again.

Marcus. A rush of heat flooded through her coming directly from her heart at the thought of the man she was about to commit herself to in a way she never thought she would.

Marcus was now living with her in LA. He'd decided to step back from his job at his firm a bit. He found someone he trusted to take over the helm and was starting up a branch office in LA. But life came first now. He would generally work 9-5 hours, though he kept his hours flexible so he was around when Kensi needed him. Her job still scared him but given that he'd been through so much already with Annabel he was able to handle it. If Kensi was off on a mission that meant she wouldn't be home for a while, only then would he put in longer hours. Their relationship was his – no their – priority, not work.

Which was why Kensi had asked for a pre-nup. The only thing she wanted from this marriage was Marcus and she wanted him to know that, without any shadow of a doubt. He had reluctantly agreed and had it drawn up. She'd signed it willingly with no regrets at all. She knew it was the right thing to do, both in her heart and her head. What she hadn't expected was the moment she handed it to Marcus was for him to hold it over a lighter and throw it in a metal bin to watch it burn. He held her gaze as he said three little words that meant so much to her. 'I trust you.' Coming from him and everything he had been through, in a way they meant more than those other three little words that he said to her often.

So now, almost six months to the day that he had proposed – twice – Kensi found herself in a luxury hotel and reception centre, known for its discretion, security and ability to keep everyone away who shouldn't be in attendance. She found herself about to get married in a beautiful setting with those around her that she loved and for once, money and budgets hadn't factored in to this elaborate set up. This wasn't an undercover op, though if anyone were to witness Hetty buzzing around making sure everything was perfect, you'd think it was. This time Hetty wasn't in charge, at least not officially.

Kensi turned from the mirror at the sound of the door opening and smiled as Hetty stepped through.

"How are you, my dear?" Hetty asked.

"I'm good, Hetty," Kensi replied.

"I have something for you. To complete your outfit if you would like," Hetty added. She stepped forward to Kensi and held out a box, that Kensi easily identified as a jewellery case.

Kensi looked between it and Hetty curiously.

Hetty smiled. "Just something from that antique jewellery collection we talked about that I thought you might like to borrow for today. If you don't it want it, I won't be offended," she promised.

Kensi opened the box and lying nestled on a bed of black velvet was a gorgeous diamond necklace. Kensi didn't even want to think about how many carats were on it. "Hetty I couldn't. It must be worth a fortune."

"My dear, it is only worth a fortune if I wish to sell it, which I don't," she assured Kensi. "Therefore, it is not worth anything except the delight it will bring you if you wish to wear it. May I put it on so you can see?"

Kensi nodded, still shocked at this gift of Hetty's, even if it was only a loan. She leant down so that Hetty could reach and once it was on she turned around to look in the mirror. It took her breath away. The diamonds sparkled and the fall of the necklace matched beautifully with the neckline of the dress, as if they were made for each other.

Kensi turned back to Hetty. "I –"

Hetty shook her head. "If you want to, wear it. Otherwise just put it back in the box."

"I feel like I should have a security guard on either side of me," Kensi replied as she turned back to the mirror and looked at her reflection. Hetty certainly knew her stuff. It was perfect.

Hetty smiled at her comment. "Considering who you are surrounded by today, I do not think you need to worry. We certainly have the necessary number of bodyguards to take down anyone who would try and steal it from you. That is, if you don't do that yourself."

Kensi laughed softly, despite the growing nerves in her stomach. "I think I should leave that up to the guys today. Fighting in this dress would be a little tricky." She turned to Hetty¸ suddenly serious.

"Hetty, I can do this right? Be who Marcus needs?" Kensi asked.

Hetty stepped closer and took Kensi's hands in hers. She looked up at the nervous bride and smiled.

"You can be you. That is all he needs."

Kensi nodded slowly. "Me huh?"

"You, my dear. You have someone you can be you with."

Kensi took a deep breath. The nerves started to settle and she smiled. "I do, don't I?"

Hetty nodded. They both turned to face the door at the knock from the other side.

"You ready Kenz?" came Sam's deep voice.

"Come in Sam," Kensi called out.

Sam and Annabel stepped through the door.

"Wow! Kensi you look gorgeous. Pity you're already taken," Sam complimented and teased all at once.

Annabel came over to her and smiled. "Nervous?" she asked quietly.

Kensi nodded. "Like you wouldn't believe."

Annabel winked and leant close. "So is Marcus," she told her.

Kensi wasn't quite sure why, but that made her feel so much better. "Why is he nervous?" she asked.

"Because all men are," Hetty answered. "They worry, standing out there in full view of everyone, waiting patiently for their bride to come to them. Whilst the bride gets to hide her nerves tucked away in a room, the groom has to stand out there for the world to see and hope that she actually shows up."

The nerves settled in Kensi's stomach a bit more and she giggled. "Then perhaps we shouldn't keep him waiting too long."

Hetty nodded. "Very well. I will go take my place with those ragamuffins you call family and make sure they behave themselves."

Annabel smiled. "My boys always behave."

Hetty looked at Annabel for a moment not even trying to hide the smirk that formed on her face. "When you are looking perhaps," she said before she left the room.

Annabel shook her head as Hetty left before she turned her focus to Kensi. "You set?" she asked.

"I think so," Kensi replied before taking one more look in the mirror as Annabel checked her over as well.

"All set," Annabel added. She handed Kensi the bouquet and took her own. "You look beautiful Kensi."

"So do you Annabel. Thank you for being here with me," Kensi told her.

Annabel smiled and kissed Kensi gently on the cheek, being careful not to smudge the make-up. "Thank you for wanting me here."

Sam came over to them then. "Do I get to be included in the mushy stuff?" he asked with a grin.

Annabel and Kensi looked at each other and Kensi winked. There a matching twinkle in Annabel's eyes as they, almost in unison, moved, rose up and kissed Sam on the cheek. When they pulled back they started laughing at the two lipstick marks on his cheeks.

Sam caught his reflection in the mirror, rolled his eyes and shook his head before quickly ducking into the bathroom to wash it off, whilst the girls touched theirs up.

Sam stepped back into the main room. "Well then Kensi, let's not keep Marcus waiting any longer. Let's do this."

Kensi placed her arm in Sam's and they followed Annabel out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Callen watched as his wife walked down the aisle. She looked gorgeous. The deep burgundy coloured dress clung to her curves in ways that made him think things that weren't necessarily appropriate, at least in public. It fell almost to the floor and as she walked he could see the slight gap where the split was.

Apparently he wasn't the only one who though she looked gorgeous if the gurgles and sounds coming from the little boy in his arms, as Tommy saw her, were anything to go by. Tommy tried to make a dive for his mum as she passed them. Annabel's smile grew and her eyes sparkled with laughter when she saw them. She winked at Callen and blew a kiss to Tommy as she kept walking. Almost reluctantly he turned away and watched as the bride walked down the aisle. Tommy didn't. Social niceties such as looking at the bride, didn't register when you were barely six months old.

Kensi looked beautiful – and happy.

The nerves he was expecting to see weren't there even though Callen knew she was still hadn't been sure about whether she could do this thing called marriage when he'd last spoken to her. He had no doubts though. He seen the changes in her, witnessed her commitment to this relationship with Marcus and, given the fact that they were still together more than a year on from their first dates, he knew that commitment was real and shared. They both wanted this.

As Kensi moved further down the aisle toward them he smiled and she returned it. Callen nodded his reassurance, just to remind her that he knew she could do this. She tilted her head to Sam, who was beside her. Sam nodded at her too and she then looked toward to the two men at the top of the aisle. Marcus and Grey. She focused on Marcus who was looking at her like she was the only person in the room.

Callen followed her gaze and saw exactly what he wanted to see in Marcus. The same thing he felt for Annabel. Marcus was well and truly smitten and in love with Kensi. To be honest, Callen hadn't expected anything else. Because if he hadn't been, it wouldn't have mattered what agreement he'd made with Marcus when he'd spoken to him about marrying Annabel, Callen wouldn't have been letting this happen if he wasn't sure Kensi was in good hands. Neither would Sam. Or Hetty for that matter.

Callen watched Sam kiss Kensi on the cheek before handing her over to Marcus and coming back to join them.

When it came time for the answer to the question of who was giving the bride away, the answer came in unison – 6 different voices (plus a gurgle). Kensi's family - Callen, Sam, Hetty, Nate, Eric and Renko (who had rejoined their team to replace Grey).

Callen caught the grin on Kensi's face when she turned to look at them and the shine of tears. Things had changed so much in the last fifteen months. They were most definitely a family now, not just a team.

The fact that Annabel was the one standing up there next to Kensi was just a small hint at how far the relationship had come. Over that time, Kensi and Annabel had developed a solid friendship. Annabel gave Kensi that girlfriend she could talk to about everything, one she wouldn't have to hide from or make up some cover story. Kensi could tell her anything. Hetty had ensured that Annabel's clearance remained high enough that Callen and Kensi could talk to her about work without having to hold back. It did mean that Annabel was still working for MI6 to ensure that she was allowed that level of clearance. Hetty had arranged for her to be the 'official' liaison between MI6 and NCIS, even though at present she was still technically on maternity leave.

Callen watched the ceremony with one eye on the happy couple, one on his wife and both keeping an eye on their son. Though with Sam on one side of him and Hetty on the other, he hadn't really needed to do that.

Tommy was well and truly loved by all. Hetty doted on him and was more than happy to babysit anytime. Sam would do anything to get a smile out of him. As for Nate, well Nate found that spending a little time with Tommy did wonders for forgetting about some case that he couldn't get out of his head. Tommy's innocence and delight in playing kept Nate entertained easily.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

"I, Kensi Marie Blye, take you Marcus Brandon Evans, to be my husband. I promise to love you, cherish you, protect you and to understand that we are two very different people. I promise to be there for you, listen to you and stand by your side, to work toward the future that we both want, together."

"I, Marcus Brandon Evans, take you Kensi Marie Blye, to be my wife. I promise to love you, cherish you, protect you and to understand that we are two very different people. I promise to be there for you, listen to you and stand by your side, to work toward the future that we both want, together. I promise you, here and now, that even if you drive me up the wall, I will not stop or regret loving you for one moment."

The last part Marcus had added himself and Kensi hadn't known about it. The tears that she had managed to hold back for the first part of his vows overflowed at the emotion and promise he gave her in front of everyone. Somehow, it meant even more than when he had told her the night he proposed that he wouldn't have any regrets. Marcus reached out and brushed the tears off with his fingers. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Unlike Callen, Marcus waited for the statement to finish before he caught Kensi up in his arms and kissed her. She returned it just as passionately and there were cheers and whistles from all around the room.

Callen let out a small sigh of relief. Hetty looked sideways at him suspiciously.

"Did you doubt her G?" she asked quietly, under the guise of tickling Tommy, who squirmed and wriggled until he was released down to his Grandma H.

"Not her, Hetty. Just hoping that nothing crazy happened to spoil this for her."

"As if I would have allowed that," Hetty stated firmly. "Would I Tommy? Would I let anything spoil this perfect day for your Aunty Kensi and Uncle Marcus?"

Tommy grinned at Hetty and Hetty smiled back.

"Take some advice from your son, G. Trust me. Today is perfect."

Callen smiled and then snuck in front of Sam to steal the first hug from the bride. Even though he couldn't see it, he was sure Sam was rolling his eyes.

"You did it Kenz," he whispered softly.

"Thank you," Kensi said back to him. "For everything."

Callen pulled back and looked at her. "I just did what I could."

Kensi smiled. "You didn't interfere. That must have been hard for you to step back."

Callen rolled his eyes. "Sam can interfere as well as me. You didn't need both of us."

Sam snorted. "As if I had a chance. Hetty's more scary than me and Marcus twisted my warning around to have me help him. Kenz, you never stood a chance of saying no to him."

Kensi grinned and stepped up to hug Sam. "I know. But it was nice to know you guys were there in case."

"We'll always be there Kenz," Sam said seriously and then kissed her on the cheek then he turned to Marcus. "Remember that."

"I will," Marcus agreed.

Sam shook his head realising Marcus didn't completely understand his comment. "We will always be there … for both of you. You're family now Marcus."

Marcus nodded and reached out to shake Sam's hand. "Thanks Sam."

Hetty handed Tommy back to Callen as Kensi moved down the line to her. Callen slipped his spare arm around Annabel and pulled her close to them.

Annabel smiled. "So have my boys been behaving?" she asked. Tommy giggled when she tickled him under the chin.

"We always behave," Callen replied. Annabel glanced at him with a suspicious look on her face.

"That's not what Hetty tells me."

Callen tugged her close. "Hetty doesn't know when I don't behave, unless you've told her." He kissed her deeply, stopping only when Tommy's hand came into contact with his cheek. They both chuckled at the interruption. Annabel dropped a kiss on Tommy's cheek.

"Were you feeling a little left out?" she asked him. Tommy just grinned in response and leant toward her. Annabel took him from Callen and gave him a hug.

Callen leant close to her ear. "So have you?"

Annabel looked back and rolled her eyes. "Of course not. Though if you keep taking her up on babysitting duties she might start to work it out for herself."

Callen shrugged. "She probably already knows."

Annabel kissed Tommy one last time and handed him back to Callen. "I'll see you two soon," she told them. "Be good for Daddy." Tommy gurgled happily and Callen pulled her back in for one last kiss.

"You look gorgeous, by the way," he told her.

Annabel smiled and gently stroked his cheek. "So do you." She slipped away from them and placed her arm in Grey's as they followed Kensi and Marcus back down the aisle.

~~~o

Later – at the reception.

Callen pulled Annabel into his arms as they twirled around the dance floor. He glanced over at Marcus and Kensi who were swaying gently to the music.

"They seem pretty happy with themselves," he said.

Annabel glanced over and smiled. "Reminds me of us."

He pulled her close. "I hope they are as happy as we are."

"So do I," she whispered and pulled his head down for a gentle kiss.

They glanced around for Tommy and both smiled to see him asleep in the safety of Sam's arms. Even though Tommy wasn't small, (he was above average in length at least), being held by the giant that was Sam still made him seem tiny.

"Sam's enjoying playing uncle isn't he?" Annabel said as she settled herself contentedly in his arms, her head on his shoulder. Their movements eased into a slow sway on the spot that vaguely resembled the rhythm of the music.

"Yeah," Callen agreed. "He always has enjoyed his nieces and nephews."

"So, Samuel or Samantha – any preference?"

It took a moment for her question to register in his mind and when it did Callen stopped abruptly. "Excuse me?"

Annabel lifted her head off his shoulder and looked up. She grinned at the look on his face. "It's a simple question G."

Nothing was ever that simple with his wife.

"Are you asking me about names in general, if I want another child or are you …" Callen trailed off as the smile on her face got bigger. He couldn't help but return it.

"No preference." Callen slid his hand to the back of her neck and tilted her head to just the right angle so he could look deep into those green eyes that told him everything he needed to know. They were sparkling and happy, with just a hint of something in them that he'd only ever seen when she was pregnant. "Just as long as he or she is healthy and happy and looks a little more like you if she's a girl."

"Guess we'll find out in about eight months. Should be plenty of time to decide on a name together."

He had to give it to Annabel, she certainly knew how to make moments like these memorable.

Callen lowered his head slowly. "I love you, Annabel Jane Callen."

"I love you too, G Callen."

He finished closing the distance between their lips, the last though going through his mind before his touched hers was a repeat of Hetty's words from earlier.

_Today is perfect._

_.  
_

~THE END~


End file.
